he was devoted to his family and his faith and the world and my family lost a great man that day all because of a dangerous man who never should have had a gun. rickey's killer was a neonazi with a violent past. he went on a shooting spree throughout illinois and indiana that weekend shooting at 29 killing, wounding nine and killing two. jews, asians, african americans, anyone whose race was different from his. how could this happen? this neonazi was not allowed to have a gun because he was subjected to a domestic violence restraining order. he went into a gun store and was turned down because he failed a background check but he found an unlicensed gun seller in the

classified ads and that's how he bought his guns. because this seller was unlicensed he was not required to do a background check. no father anywhere on this planet much less in america should be gunned down in front of his children. it's inhumane. why won't congress close this loop hole? i learned as a child that the love of money is the root of all evil. it is a sin and a shame that greed and money drives our laws instead of consciousness and common sense. i'm here today to call on congress to act now to pass common sense gun laws to keep guns away from dangerous people. >> we are going to ask congress, should the man who shot rickey birdsong be able to buy a gun

anywhere in our country legally? david carriens. >> i am here to honor the memory of angela dales, the mother of our oldest grand child who was shot and killed in the first school shooting here in virginia, the appalachian school of law on january 16, 2002 when three people were gunned down and three people were murdered rchlt unfortunately in the state of virginia and i'm going to be addressing virginia because we have an enormous problem, we continue to live under the shadows of bipartisan deceit enrichment. many politicians in richmond have fallen prey to their political agendas and fear of the national rifle association and have willingly opted to confuse and cover up these

tragedies. the governor's review panel report on the shooting at virginia tech is an example of this cover up. and i have documentation with me if any of you would like it. the state of virginia paid to the victims $100,000 for their dead children and their dead spouses and paid over three quarters of a million dollars to a firm that does business with the state of virginia to write a report that covers it up. that is a conflict of interest by anybody's definition. the report was written to prevent anyone from being held accountable for his or her actions or inactions. we will come here every day if it will help wake up politicians to their responsibilities to keep guns out of the hands of those who are violent and are a danger to themselves and others. we are here to honor not only the people we have lost but all

of the victims of school shootings, those who have been wounded and those who are psychologically scarred by these tragedies. lisa delity. mindy finkalstein. >> good afternoon. almost 13 years ago i was a camp counselor at the north county jewish center when a convicted felon tried to kill me. i was 16 years old at the time but i was lucky because buf rd furrow failed that day. and for the last 13 years i have tried to lend my voice to this cause telling members of congress there is no reason he

should have had that gun. for 13 years i have been brushed aside. no one seems to think that this conversation is worth having. you can't ignore us today. look me in the eye and tell me there is nothing anybody could do to prevent a convicted felon to walk in and gun down innocent children. you are dead wrong. this past year my friend brian kaplan was shot and killed in the same neighborhood where i was shot 13 years ago. he was 32 years old. he had a daughter and his wife was pregnant with kids. the pain that i have that my friend was taken away from a gun is too much to handle. i promise myself i will not let anymore of my friends be killed. now i not just speak because of what happened to me but i speak on behalf of brian's three children who will grow up

without a father. for them, myself and for all of us here today whose voices are silenced please help us make sure no one else has to suffer tragedies. >> andrew goddard. >> good afternoon. my name is andrew goddard. you have heard from my son. i'm looking at my watch. i know what i was doing five years ago today at almost this exact moment. i was on the telephone with a surgeon discussing my son's injuries trying to keep it together for the rest of my family. nine months after i suffered that injury to our family i went to the virginia general assembly to see what was going to be done to change things in virginia. imagine my surprise when everyone seemed to tell me now is not the time to talk about such a thing. nine months after 32 people were killed it wasn't the time to

talk about it. imagine my disgust when i realized it was the time to talk about a bill to return gun rights to people with mental illness. you can't do anything to stop someone who is mentally in problems and having difficulties with his life you can't stop him from getting a gun but we should be concentrating on allowing people who have gotten past that point to get guns again. i have been back there every year sense and every year it is not the time to talk about strengthening gun laws but it is the time to talk about weakening them. and now after this many years i say enough is enough. we are going to do something about strengthening gun laws. thank you. >> laurie hoss. >> good afternoon. my name is laurie hoss. my daughter emily was shot twice

in the back of her head five years ago today. as difficult as it is for me to stand here today i can only think of the pain and the horror and the sadness and the utter devastation to those 32 families that morning and 32 families every day because dangerous people continue to have access, easy access wherever they want whenever they want to weapons. but i'm here to challenge and suggest that we can fix this problem. a background check is a matter of moments. we have the technology. we have the means. we have the matter and we have the determination. we are going to see fit that our representatives and our legislators hear our voice and understand that we need to do what it takes to do a background check on every firearm purchaser and do what it takes to get the records, disqualifiers and

records into the background check system so that cho can no longer buy a firearm. i suspect today somewhere in one of your neighborhoods, your neighbor, your friend, your colleague, your child, your uncle, your aunt is being murdered and gunned down by somebody who had easy access to a gun because they didn't undergo a background check and because they are disqualified whether a felony conviction, mental health conviction, drug abuse or the other six disqualifiers, those records weren't in the system. we can fix it and i am determined to help to do that. thank you. >> laurie invited me to come up with her. i'm a 33rd family member.

my daughter mary was also shot in the french class at virginia tech. she did not survive and we have 32 students and faculty members and brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers who are not with us today, several of us spent this past weekend at virginia tech memorializing them. it heartens us that the survivors are able to move forward in their lives. it heartens us that we are represented on the campus by scholarships, memorial funds and any number of great remembrances but the fact remains that in all of our families there are holes shaped like our loved ones that will never be filled and that's true of every single person here. that's true of every single family of the 32 people who

every day as you have just heard are shot to death in this country. this should not happen. and as you have also heard repeatedly today the question is if not us, who? if not now, when? the courts have repeatedly deferred to the congress and the state legislatures to do the right thing and the proper regulation of public safety to include issues related to gun violence but in far too many cases our state legislators, state executives and the congress have avoided making those hard choices. here in virginia or i should say across the river in virginia our own governor, governor mcdonnell heard our pleas not to allow the repeal of our one gun a month law which is common sense legislation that has existed for over or almost 20 years and the commonwealth and then allowed

that bill to become law. inspite of our pleas. in our case, this piece of legislation slowed the shooters plans. it didn't stop them but had them worked as part of a seamless web of common sense gun legislation to include incorporating the background checks for those mentally ill it would have probably succeeded in preventing the shooter from getting the firearms he used. now, i'm proud to say that virginia now leads the nation in inserting mental health records into the national instant check system but there is so much further to go and so in the name of mary and reama and in the name of everyone whose families are here representing those lives who were snuffed out by gun violence i plead with our members of congress, do the right thing. don't support legislation that

increases the availability of firearms to people who shouldn't have them and do what's in your power to make sure that those firearms don't get into the hands of the people who shouldn't have them. thank you. >> i understand christine is here. no. christine cologne? no. she's here. there you are. >> sorry. >> hi. my name is christina cologne. i'm here with my husband, a retired milwaukee police officer. on april 11th, 2009 his career ended when he nearly lost his life in a line of duty at the hands of a nine-time felon, parolee who had only been out of

prison for six months. the firearm was purchased at a gas station out of the trunk of the car by his girlfriend. a dispatch call for a subject with a gun resulted in a foot pursuit that turned into a gun battle after the criminal displayed his firearm and began firing less than seven feet away. after he was shot he returned fire until he stopped the criminal. fidell was shot three times and only one bullet exited. a nine time felon nearly took his life. vice president biden and attorney general holder award him the medal of valor which is the highest honor given to public safety officers for exhibiting exceptional courage in saving and protecting others whose heroic actions were above and beyond the call of duty.

he and i are here on behalf of all law enforcement officers shot or killed in the line of duty, their families and their loved ones to demand that our elected representatives do all they can to keep dangerous people from obtaining guns. to all of those lost or injured officers who are shot in the line of duty you will never be forgotten. thank you. >> let's challenge our leaders who distribute medals of valor to stand up to the gun lobby. sign this statement of principle. reject the george zimmerman armed vigilante act. is christian here? i didn't see him before. no. okay. katlyn hinkley.

>> five years ago my mother and sister went to buy my siblings and myself valentine cards at a mall in salt lake city utah they were gunned down. my sweet baby sister was killed and my mother will forever suffer from the multiple gunshot wounds she had. when it all happened it was all over the news. our pain and grieving was broadcast and everyone in the community was hurting. they felt the pain, the fear and the traumatic loss and wanted to know what was happening because they felt like they were a part of it. everyone can tell you where they were when it happened. but when the time came to move on they were able to turn off their tvs, put down their newspapers and go back to their daily lives knowing that their children were tucked safely in their beds but our families

can't. we live this nightmare every day. we live with the pain and loss of our children, siblings, close friends and family members. we live with the fear that unless our laws change dangerous people will be able to get hold of illegal firearms and put other innocent people through this intolerable pain of wondering who our lost loved ones would be today. for the last five years i constantly wondered who my sister would be today. i wonder what she would look like, what she would be doing and what of her many ambitious goals she would have been able to achieve had her life not ended at 15 at the hands of someone who should never have been able to obtain the weapon that ended her life. she has missed so much that she should have been here for, most

recently her high school graduation and my wedding. i watch as my mother detearierates before my eyes knowing there is nothing i can do for her. she will never get better. she will never heal. i live in fear for her and her future and for the future of my kids that i want to someday have. it is far too easy for these dangerous firearms to get into the hands of the wrong people. gun dealers are not being held accountable. congress is not being held accountable for these weapons being sold. we stand before you today asking you to remember what we can never forget to say enough is enough and to demand a change so this does not continue to happen. so far as i understand john

boehner won't meet with us. is that right still? i ask after you hear that is it time now, john boehner, to start talking about this issue? is it time to start talking about what we can do to keep the guns out of the people responsible to these tragedies that you are hearing about? >> one of the three young people murdered on south capital street. there was nine people shot with multiple weapons. i'm not going to dwell too much on the case because we are still in the trial proceedings right now. the point is i'm here to support and will be here to support any

and every time that i need it to support because guns in the wrong hands is not a pretty sight. my daughter was shot in the head with an ak 47, head blown it's because just listening to all the stories and just knowing what you're going through, i definitely can relate to the young lady that just spoke saying her mother's deteriorating. my father died due to bladder cancer, but he just had no fight after rischle was killed, couldn't get out of bed for six months. when he finally got up, he was diagnosed with cancer. and he just didn't have the will to live any longer. and elected officials, politicians, activists, all of us as a human society, we need to be a mother conscious society. and i think it's just very selfish of the gun shops and gun manufacturers to take the

attitude that, well, we, you know, we're only making guns for, you know, whatever the purpose that they're claiming to make the guns for. it's not my fault that, you know, innocent people have been gunned down with the guns that i have manufactured and have put into my gun shops. and it is your responsibility to be more responsible. you can't think that, you know, manufacturing deadly weapons, you have no responsibility there. you do. and i just want to say to all the elected officials, you know, that you need to stop thinking in that selfish manner that i guess because it hasn't happened to you, that you feel like you're, you know, oblivious to it. and you're so distant from it. but you're not. anyone can get a weapon. as abby made a statement from these gun protests that you can get a gun as easy as purchasing a candy bar, and she's absolutely right. can you buy a gun from craigslist, on the internet,

some walmart stores, a trunk of a car, anywhere. and for you to have the attitude that, you know, well, i live in a certain neighborhood or i -- you know, you're not safe. the bottom line is, you're not safe. my only child is now gone. i don't know what it's going to be like to be a grandmother because i will never have any grandchildren. i won't know what it's like to visit my daughter in college because she didn't make it that summer. she was killed that spring. you know, all of her friends have now gone off to college. and they're moving along as best they can. but, you know, people that take lives and innocent people, they don't realize the effects that the devastation they leave behind. it's not just the victims whose lives you've taken and their families whose lives, you know, you've forever changed. but you have to think about, you know, in my case or a lot of cases, the pediatricians. you know, it's hard for all of those relationships that have been established with those victims, people now have lost. and that void is never going to

be filled again. so i'm definitely here to go along with the rest of the families to see these senators and let them know that, you know, enough has been enough many years ago. i'm not going to sit back and tolerate, you know, any more mothers and parents, siblings and young people, old people, middle-aged people being gunned down. it makes no sense. this is supposed to be a civilized nation. let's start acting like it. representatives, let's get on board. let's stop being, you know, so quick to make the almighty dollar. you know, you can always -- money is going to be there. you can't replace human lives. i can't buy another daughter. no more than anyone else can buy another sister or father or whatever, you know, relationship you have with that loved one. don't be so selfish. you know. and be more respectful. so we're going to go over there. and we're going to get in the faces of these politicians. and we're going to let them

know, guns in the wrong hands is very, very deadly. and it makes absolutely no sense. and we're not going away once the cameras leave. we're not going away when the office is closed. we'll come back and we'll keep coming back just like we've been doing for years and many years to come. and we'll keep coming back. and we're going to have more people because unfortunately, until they get it, we're going to have more casualties. thank you. >> william killebrew. >> july 2nd, 1984, i helplessly watched at the age of 10 as my mother, jacqueline killebrew, and my 12-year-old brother, anthony cefus, was shot point blank in their faces right in front of me. he then came to me, and he put the gun to my head.

and he had me beg for my life. as i put my hands together and begged him, please don't kill me. please don't kill me. i'll do anything. it didn't go anywhere. after i pleaded to god, please, don't let him kill me, marshall brett williams who had served an 11 1/2-year sentence for second-degree murder on the marine base at quantico, virginia, then stood up and walked around the room. he let me go that day but without my leader, without my protector, without the person that i would have grown up with to lead me and guide me through this life. and at the age of 13, i wanted to take my own life because it was unbearable. but i've come from that room, that room at 10 years old to this hill to let congress know that guns in the hands of people like marshall brent williams, guns in the hands of people like george zimmerman do not belong.

please, i'm coming from that room to plead with you, to beg and to demand and to ask you, please reject the george zimmerman vigilante act. and please sign this statement of principle. stand with us, us 32 here today, and the 32 victims who lost their lives at virginia tech years ago. stand with us today to make a difference and all communities across america, please stand with us. it's senseless violence. and with this kind of legislation, this model legislation, it's unspeakable, and it's deadly aznardine jeffrey said. we've got to do something about it. and today we plan to do something about it. thank you very much. >> dana kline. >> good afternoon. my name is dana kline.

i'm here today to honor my friend, pamela wechter, a very blessed memory who died in the shooting that permanently disabled me. after i took a bullet in the arm to try and protect my then 17-week-long pregnancy on july 28th, 2006, in seattle, washington. i feel it is my obligation to not let the world forget pam. her beauty, her grace, and her commitment to making our country and our world a safer place. in that same spirit, i have made the choice to give voice to not only pam's story and mine, but to the thousands of other people in our country whose lives have been lost and permanently changed due to the horror of gun violence. i am honors to stand here today with among other survivors like

me who want to be sure that the decision-makers in our nation's capitol have faces, names and real people to think about when they consider senseless gun control legislation like the george zimmerman armed vigilante act. my now 5-year-old son and i call the state of maine home now. and i challenge and look forward to speaking with retiring senator olympia snowe who has one last chance in her seat in the senate to make the right decision and stand behind sensible, honest, real conversations about the state of our country and the state of the abundance of firearms and loss of life that happens every day in our nation. i hope that they'll remember us, the other legislators, senator

snowe, senator collins, and the other members of our congressional and senatorial delegations and join the legacy that pam leaves and that all of us hope to leave, that we americans can create a safer world for the rest of the members of our nation. thank you very much. >> mary kay mays. >> my name is mary kay mays, and my daughter, ryan, was the youngest of the five students slain in the rampage shooting at northern illinois university on valentine's day of 2008. ryan was only 19 when taken from my husband and me. she was our only child and the light of our lives. as more information became available about the shooter, i had problems understanding how someone with such an extensively documented history of mental illness