For so many of us, the memorial, as both noun and verb, offered a place and a purpose – a way forward.
Undoubtedly, this path must turn our collective anguish into action. The road marks are clear. For nearly a decade, our city has been fighting for sane gun control. Following Sandy Hook in 2012, the Highland Park City Council courageously passed an assault weapons ban, long after a federal ban expired. After the July 4th shooting, it unanimously passed a still broader resolution calling for a nationwide ban on what can only be classified as weapons of war.
In the name of Katherine Goldstein, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, Jacki Sundheim, Stephen Straus, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, Eduardo Uvaldo, and the hundreds of thousands of souls who have senselessly lost their lives to gun violence, we vow to keep our promise. And We. Will. Win.