SANDY, Utah — Those who have lost loved ones to gun violence had a space to grieve together in the Community of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sandy Thursday evening.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis. It’s a continuing problem and at the rate we are going, no one in this country is going to be unaffected by gun violence,” said Terri Gilfillan, board chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.
The Gun Violence Prevention Center reports that in 2022, 456 Utahns lost their lives to gun violence, including Nia Maile’s cousin who died in a shooting by Hunter High School in January 2022. “Evey single day, it’s a reminder it did happen. And every day, you have to try to figure out how to grow around this new normal.”
Loved ones and community members gathered at the Community of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sandy for an annual vigil to honor lives lost – in conjunction with the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, and to raise awareness about finding solutions for gun violence. Maile works having conservations around the issue and wants to ensure no family and community has to go through their pain.
“To put an end to this, to reach out to our kids, because my cousin, he was only 15. And we’ve been mainly focusing on youth because it’s just too easy for kids to get a gun right now,” added Maile.
“We really need our lawmakers to step up and try to help solve this problem. It’s a serious issue. We’re losing our children – it’s the number one cause of death for children in this country,” said Gilfillan.
The names of 170 victims hung on a tree, and people read the name of a victim on a card as they lit candles for them – so they are never forgotten.
“We want to really point out that these tragedies can be prevented if we have some means of preventing access to those who either are in crisis or shouldn’t have firearms,” continued Gilfillan.
