This morning, Francine Wheeler and her husband, David — the parents of 6-year-old Newtown victim Ben — replaced President Obama for the White House’s weekly Saturday address. Barely holding back tears, Francine recalled Ben’s love of school and his dream of being both an architect and a paleontologist. And, on the day before the four-month anniversary of the massacre, she reminded the country of just what has happened since:
>“I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief.”
The substantive demand resulting from Wheeler’s trauma is clear. “We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass common sense gun responsibility reforms,” said the grieving mother, after regaining her composure. “That will make our communities safer and prevent the tragedies that we never thought would happen to us … Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.”
