An Opportunity to Heal Yesterday

Event details below or click: August 27 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm at Our Savior’s Church on Lemay Avenue

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“Yesterday –
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
 
Suddenly . . .
There’s a shadow hanging over me....
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.”

Although these lyrics, famously written by a young Paul McCartney, refer to the loss of a romantic love relationship, they might evoke a more universal angst for many people. 
 
Like survivors of gun violence.
 
The 10-year anniversary of the Aurora movie theater shooting happened on July 30, 2022.  Ten years ago, a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and wounding 70 people. At the time, it was one of the worst mass shootings in the country’s history and sparked familiar conversations about gun control and mental health. A decade later that massacre continues to take a daily toll on both individuals and the community. Local and national media acknowledged this grim anniversary, often with statements from survivors.  Here are a couple from the PBS story.

“I live in a place at a space where I remember it every day.”
– Colorado State Rep. Tom Sullivan,
whose son died instantly from a gunshot wound. 
 
“I feel unsafe. 
Like, that’s the best way to describe it – I never feel safe. 
I always felt guilty about surviving.
I felt like . . . because I walked out. 
And one of my co-workers didn’t. 
I didn’t really start talking about this until two years ago.”
– Jenalise Long, who was present at the theater, but unharmed.

I listened to a young woman survivor describe her emotional state something like this - “a hole in the heart – one that opens up every time there is a Charleston or Buffalo or Uvalde.” I can identify with her grief.
 
According to Dr. Arash Javanbakht, who studies trauma from mass shootings, there are as many ways for survivors to deal with the trauma as there are survivors.
 
Ten years is a lot of yesterdays for the survivors of the Aurora tragedy. 
 
Some survivors turn to activism, like Rep Tom Sullivan of the 37th Congressional District in Arapahoe County. The Coloradoan ran a story about Zach Golditch, a former NFL player now working as a firefighter in Denver and getting involved in efforts to support victims from Aurora and other mass shootings across the country
 
Perhaps the most important way we can help survivors of gun violence is to help the activists and to stand up for those too traumatized to speak.  Voters will be able to have their voices heard in November. 
 
Please join the Moms Demand Action Fort Collins group on August 27 to hear from some Gun Sense Candidates – those who support legislation that helps make our community safer.  The meeting will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2000 S Lemay Avenue, from 1pm until 2:30pm. Among those speaking will be Congressional Representative Joe Neguse, and State Representatives Cathy Kipp, Andrew Boesenecker, and Judy Amabile.
 
If you wish to help with refreshments that will be served toward the end of the meeting, please contact me using the form at the bottom of this page, and I will put you in touch with the Moms Demand Action FC leader who is coordinating. 
 
Anne Thompson, Ending Gun Violence