My daughter, Julia, and I were both 16 years old when we survived gun violence.
She was threatened online, and years earlier, I was the victim of an armed robbery. Before I became involved with Moms Demand Action, I never thought of myself or my daughter as gun violence survivors. I thought I had moved on from having my life threatened at gunpoint. But when Julia’s classmate posed with a gun on social media and named her as one of his targets, the fear came rushing back. I felt as terrified as I did 40 years ago—and just as helpless.
Julia and I have worked together to heal from our trauma. We’ve joined other survivors at Maryland Advocacy Day, urging state lawmakers to pass common-sense gun legislation. We’ve become passionate about gun sense candidates–working on local campaigns and passing out snacks to voters on Election Day.
We and other survivors belong to a club no one wants to join. But we are resilient and stronger together.