SANTA FE, Texas – Many people, including Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, came from all over the country to pay their respects to the families affected by the Santa Fe High School Shooting.
The couple lost their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, in the 2012 mass shooting at a showing of the film "the Dark Knight Rises" in Colorado.
“We started the nonprofit Survivors Empowered after our daughter was killed, and a part of our mission is to go to these mass shootings where there are survivors and to let them know what is ahead of them,” Sandy Phillips said.
The couple traveled from San Antonio to do just that.
“One thing is, we want them to be prepared,” Sandy Phillips said. “We also want them to know there may be people who will start charities and funds in honor of their children and families and they may never see a penny. After all of that, they also have the funeral arrangements and everything they are in shock about at the moment to deal with.”
Lonnie and Sandy Phillips said they want to help families find the resources they need.
“We have found that survivor-to-survivor is very helpful which provides that comfort,” Sandy Phillips said.
Sandy said this is the ninth mass shooting she and her husband have responded to since the death of their daughter.
“We are just tired of it and want it to end,” Sandy Phillips said. “We hear them talking about putting a Band-Aid on this when the only way to stop this lethal bleed is to have tighter gun laws and restrictions.”
The couple said they are happy that Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to hold public roundtables at which people can offer their ideas on how city and state leaders can better protect students and schools, but Lonnie said he hopes the governor handles the process fairly.
CROSS MEMORIAL: A carpenter from Chicago “Crosses for Losses” visits Santa Fe High School to deliver crosses for each of the 10 victims. He travels to every site of mass killings. @KPRC2 #kprc2 #SantaFeStrong pic.twitter.com/5NETK0LgB6
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) May 21, 2018
“As long as he brings everyone to the table and don’t pick and choose selective people that will sway one way,” Lonnie Phillips said. "This is a problem. They say, ‘Let’s arm our teachers,’ but we all know that is not the solution. Our daughter was shot in the movie theater. What are they going to do? Arm our ticket takers?”
The couple said every mass shooting they hear about brings them to their knees because it brings them back to the loss of their daughter, but they plan to continue to travel and help survivors as long as mass shootings continue to happen.
“This continuum of mass shootings is painful to think about,” Sandy Phillips said. “This is all preventable. We are getting used to, in America, saying, 'Oh another one,' instead of saying, 'No, not one more. Not one more shooting.' It is going to be a long hard battle, but until we get better laws, this Band-Aid will continue to get ripped off."
