SAN ANTONIO ā During a moment of silence on Friday night, dozens of people held candles in the sky to honor and remember gun violence victims in San Antonio.
The local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held the vigil to remember those lost. The chapter created a memorial wall of photos and read off a list of names. The event kicked off Wear Orange Weekend, which is a part of Gun Violence Awareness Month.
Armando Rodriguez was at the vigil to remember his son, Robert Fluellen.
Five years after he was shot and killed, āthe hurt is still there,ā Rodriguez said. āRobert was special. Robert put a smile on everybodyās face.ā
The memorial showed the aftermath of gun violence. Thatās why gun safety advocates like Cindy Strzelecki and Angie Jenn are educating on safety precautions.
āWhat we want is the prevention before the incident happens,ā Strzelecki said.
Strzelecki volunteers for Be SMART, and Jenn volunteers for Be SMART and Moms Demand Action.
āItās completely preventable,ā Jenn said. āThere are so many options out there to store your firearm securely.ā
Locks, safes and smart storage are all things Jenn said gun owners should think about.
āWe can do better,ā Jenn said. āI not only want to help my children be safe in our community, but I want other families and other kids.ā
This was the first of many conversations happening this month.
On Saturday, Big Mamaās Safe House is teaming up with other community groups to wear orange. Their event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Phillis Wheatley Park, located at 723 Arthur St.
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