Hi–
When some people think of Las Vegas, they think of the glam. To me, it's always felt like a quaint town.
Community was always important to me growing up, and I always felt that community here—it made me feel safe.
But that changed on October 1, 2017, at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, when a gunman shot and killed 60 people, wounded hundreds more, and traumatized me and my community forever.
Surviving gun violence—among many other things—means lingering, haunting questions: What if my sister Geena, our friends, and I had stayed closer to the stage, instead of going in search of fried Oreos? What if we dove to the ground a few inches to the right? What if we had been trampled in the pandemonium? What if Geena hadn't offered me a last-minute ticket to go and I had never been there?
Advocating for gun violence prevention allows me to turn my trauma into action. That's why I'm holding the gun industry accountable for its role in the gun violence crisis.
We just released a new video explaining how we're holding the gun industry accountable. Watch to learn more and see how you can get involved:
Almost seven years later, fear and hypervigilance shape and guide my behavior and decisions.
My two young children are jumpy and reactive to loud noises, having seen that behavior from me. My sister and parents live with emotional and physical trauma. And too many of my community live with lifelong impacts like me.
Guns are the #1 killer of kids and teens in America, but the gun industry refuses to:
- stop marketing to children
- secure its supply chain
- support gun laws that could save lives
- make its products less deadly
I'll continue to honor fellow survivors and my community by demanding the gun industry change their practices so that no one else is forced to feel the pain that I do.
Gun industry executives should listen to our demands—instead of maximizing their profits in the face of our pain.
Thanks for joining me in this fight,
Marisa Marano
She/Her/Hers
Everytown Survivor Network