Shooting Victims Challenge US Lawmakers

Dear Majority Leader Reid,

My name is Colin Goddard and I am a survivor of the shooting at Virginia Tech – the worst mass-shooting in US history. I was shot four times, but I consider myself one of the fortunate ones. Thirty-two others died that day, including many of my friends and classmates.

This April 16th will mark five years since the tragedy at my school. In remembrance of that day, and in light of recent tragedies such as Chardon High School in Ohio, Oikos University in California, and the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, at least thirty- two victims of gun violence will be joining me in Washington D.C. from April 16th-20th.

We request the opportunity to meet with you on April 17th, or any other day that week, to share with you, as a leader in the United States Senate, our thoughts and ideas in terms of how we can prevent more tragedies like ours.

As individuals who have lost loved ones to gun violence, or have survived a shooting, we hope you will agree that we add an important perspective.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Colin Goddard
Survivor, Virginia Tech

And crickets. The silence from many lawmakers is not surprising due to the strength of the the gun lobby.