APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – In downtown Appleton, speakers and community members took part in a vigil for gun violence victims. They’re also putting together steps to try to reduce gun related incidents.
“It’s gotta end,” Debbie Rhodes, the mother of a gun violence victim said. “I mean, my son was 38 years old with so much life, and it was cut short in that split second.”
Rhodes lost her son in 2021 due to gun violence. She was one of several who attended the vigil at Houdini Plaza Wednesday night.
“Any time you see any kind of shooting — because you see them all the time — it brings back such emotions because you know exactly what that family’s going through,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes’ son was killed by a felon who had a gun illegally. It’s since been her mission to change federal gun laws.
At the Appleton vigil, she wasn’t alone.
“We’re not trying to restrict anything,” event organizer Katie Olson said. “We’re just trying to have some gun sense legislation. Examples of that are universal background checks.”
Olson has been advocating against gun violence for the last decade.
The vigil took place as the ten year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting approaches. But all victims of gun violence were being remembered.
“It is important to get out the word everywhere because that is a common misconception that gun violence doesn’t happen around here or only happens in big cities.”
Olson helped put together a plan of action for those who attended, which included making calls to Sen. Ron Johnson.
Although gun activists like NRA firearms instructor Nate Nelson want to see gun violence decrease, he believes it’s dependent on the person, not the gun.
“Guns are an inanimate object just the same as anything else. If there are matches, we don’t automatically think of arson. If we think of a car, we don’t think of a hit and run or something like that. These are just simply tools and they can be used in a way that’s not in the way they were designed to be used.”
But those rallying in Appleton still hope to see change.
“You’ve just got to keep on trying,” Rhodes said. “Because I will not accept that gun violence is now part of our lives. We can’t. We just can’t.”
In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 47,000 firearm deaths in the U.S. last year — the most in at least 40 years.
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