“The last couple of years have been a hot mess.” True words spoken by a 16-year-old student a short time ago. While some folks may not relate to this trendy term of “hot mess,” the gravity of the sentiment resonates with almost all of us. The rough emotional...

When I look back, ever since I was a teenager, the effort to prevent gun violence has touched me. Meeting Jim Brady I was a Maryland high school student interested in journalism, Washington politics and the press. I remember when the 1981 assassination attempt on...

It was December 14, 2012. I had just gotten off work and was settling into my car to go home. I started the engine. The radio, set to NPR, came on. I’ll never forget that moment. Robert Siegel was reporting on the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook...

I might describe my decision to get involved in gun violence prevention as a tipping “journey” rather than a single point. I’ve watched gun violence wreak havoc and devastation in the world around me for my entire life. Growing up with active shooter drills I have...

I vividly remember where I was and what I was doing on the fateful day I reached my tipping point. But more importantly, I remember what I felt when I read that another mass shooting had taken place, just weeks, if not days, after the shooting at a grocery store in...

Most of the time, I feel safe. Some days, it feels like the entire world is dangerous. I feel sad, scared and hopeless. Other days – or weeks or months – time flies by without a hitch, and I feel safe again.  Until a mass shooting occurs. Then I remember that even a...

Years ago, I heard an interview with a divinity teacher who said, “You don’t pray for things to get better. You pray for the strength to make them better yourself.” Like many people and hopefully all of them in some way, the recent gun violence has deeply impacted my...