Only path forward is action on gun violence

As both a South Minneapolis resident and Annunciation parent, I remain deeply affected by the massacre at Annunciation Catholic Church and School on Aug. 27.
Since August, I have been confronted with the daily reality that my child is the survivor of a mass shooting and that this act of extreme violence occurred within blocks of our home, right in the safe cocoon of our neighborhood.

While I have always been a supporter of gun violence prevention, this event has brought front and center the startling fact that gun violence isn’t something that happens to other people; it happened to my family and my community and it will happen again to someone else’s family and their community.

As the Legislature considers gun violence prevention legislation this session, I am pleading that our state leaders act with urgency. Every child deserves to feel safe in their schools and communities and every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend and neighbor should live in a world where their loved ones will return home safely
at the end of the day.

The only path forward is action.

Kaila Lillehei, Lynnhurst