Rep. Lucy McBath’s path to Congress is fairly well known by now, but still gut-wrenching. Her son was shot and killed at a gas station by someone complaining about the loud music coming from the car. She had already dedicated her life to reducing gun violence when the mass shooting of high school students in Parkland, Florida inspired her to run for Congress.
On the final night of the DNC, after a video told her story, she welcomed to the stage four other survivors of gun violence. Years after their tragedies had occurred, the lingering trauma was palpable.
First up was Abbey Clements, a former teacher who survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook. “Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds, terror, crying, running. I carry that horrific day with me. 20 beautiful first grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed. They should still be here,” she said, her voice breaking.
Next was Kimberly Mata-Rubio, a parent of a child murdered in the Uvalde school shooting. She said her 10-year-old daughter was recognized in the morning for receiving all A’s and received a good citizen award. Mata-Rubio’s voice also broke as she continued the story. “30 minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers. … Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again.”
Melody McFadden lost both her mother and her niece in two different episodes of gun violence. “Ten years of waiting” and niece Sandy Patrice’s murder is still unsolved. “I’ll keep calling and I’ll keep fighting,” McFadden vowed. She was also fighting tears.
Edgar Vilchez was in high school when a classmate was shot. “It changed my story,” he said. “Instead of worrying about taking a test, I started worrying about living to take another test.” He learned a lot that day, he said, but not about academics. “I learned how to run, how to hide and drop, that what happens in the news can happen to me.” But he also learned “that we can write and must write a new story if we choose.”
McBath closed with a call to action. “Our losses do not weaken us, they strengthen our resolve,” she said, her voice rising. “We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office.” Kamala Harris in the White Office, “won’t just empathize but will act,” McBath concluded. A large screen behind her read, “FREEDOM FROM GUN VIOLENCE.”
As the lights came up, the crowd chanted, “not one more!”
If you could keep a dry eye during that presentation, you’re made of sterner stuff than I.
