Sorry Brady But Fred Is Not A Survivor

Brady United (aka the renamed Brady Campaign) sends out a weekly digest promoting gun control. This week’s digest included this on the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence (sic).

“I’m in a room full of heroes. And we’re going to get gun safety legislation passed.”

Those are survivor Fred Guttenberg’s moving words as he addressed the room at the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence at St. Mark’s Church in Washington, D.C. Held each year by the Newtown Foundation and Newtown Action Alliance, the interfaith vigil brings together survivors and families from across the country to name and remember their loved ones and #HonorWithAction. The event uplifted survivor voices in a way not often experienced in Washington. Kristen Song, whose son, Ethan, was killed by family fire, shared how she channels her grief into action. Rep. Lucy McBath spoke of her son, Jordan, and how she will never stop fighting to end gun violence.

I don’t want to sound callous but Fred Guttenberg, Kristen Song, and Lucy McBath are not survivors. None were wounded and none were even there when their kids died.

Fred Guttenberg’s daughter Jaime was killed at Margery Stoneman Douglas HS while the school resource officer cowered outside. School policy and lenient discipline allowed the killer to have a clean record and pass a NICS check.

Kristen Song’s son Ethan died because he was playing with a loaded gun at a friend’s house. He died from negligent handling of the firearm and negligent storage. He didn’t die from “family fire”.

Lucy McBath’s son Jordan Davis was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A Florida jury convicted his killer on three counts of attempted murder and one counted of first degree murder. The killer is serving a term of life without parole plus 90 years.

Losing a child is heart wrenching regardless of how it happens. However, to say these parents are survivors of “gun violence” (sic) is akin to saying I’m a cancer survivor because my first wife Rosanne died from breast cancer. I shouldn’t be considered a survivor and neither should they.