It’s been 15 long years since our son, Chris Heyman, was brutally murdered in Southern California by a coward with a modified TEK-9 loaded with 50 rounds. The shooter purchased the gun legally at an Arizona gun show without a background check and emptied it in mere seconds, over what authorities called road rage. Chris was out with his friends, riding in the backseat of a rag-top convertible Mustang. They exited the freeway at about 11 p.m., and were waiting for the light to change, when the coward stepped out of his vehicle and from behind emptied his weapon into the Mustang.
At 17 years old, Chris had his whole life ahead of him. He was six months short of his high school graduation, an aspiring pilot for his chosen profession, a hope for a wife and kids, a need to lead a loving and humor-filled life. Part of us died with him — our lives changed forever on January 18, 2004. Nothing in our lives has been the same; we are recovering survivors. At times it seems a lifetime ago, other times it’s like it was yesterday. We have been involved with Moms Demand Action since moving to Northern Nevada in 2014, and have been working on gun safety legislation ever since.
It just doesn’t make sense to purchase a weapon in one state where it’s legal and take it to another state where it’s illegal. We need common-sense gun laws and background checks on all gun sales nationwide.