(WXYZ) — A national tragedy is hitting close to home for mass shooting survivors.
Monday’s rampage in Tennessee, which killed 6, including 3 students comes as democrats in Lansing push for gun control reform.
The sounds and images from Nashville in so many ways are re-traumatizing for people like Dylan Morris, a senior at Oxford High, who knows that fear firsthand.
“To see those images of those children coming out of school with their hands above their heads this morning, that was traumatic," he said.
Dylan works with “No Future Without Today,” a group pushing for gun reforms and stricter laws aimed at stopping another tragedy.
He and other activists are hoping lawmakers can get something done. He also expressed his anger and frustration about the tragedies that continue to play out across the country.
“These were elementary-aged children. They were babies. This is something we cannot get comfortable with,” he said.
Dylan is working with democrats in Lansing like State Rep Kelly Breen from Novi to get safe storage laws and expanded background checks passed. Those measures are currently on their way to the governor’s desk.
Extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flag laws, in theory, may have had an impact in Nashville where the shooter was undergoing mental health treatment and had reportedly expressed suicidal thoughts.
Breen also wants to see that legislation, which is still waiting on a vote in the Michigan House, to come to fruition.
“We need to make sure that what we do is going to be the best-crafted policy in the country and we want to make sure it withstands any potential judicial challenge,” Breen said.
Republican State Rep Andrew Beeler from Port Huron opposes the gun control measures that passed in the House. He is also against the red flag legislation.
“I think that we’re setting a very dangerous principle with violating folks' constitutional rights without due process of law and I don't think they solve the problems democrats think they will,” he said.
Instead, he wants to see lawmakers focus on school security and mental health.
Dylan on the other hand says he is optimistic about the momentum of red flag legislation in our state and wants to see action in Lansing before another tragedy happens.
“This makes us relieve our trauma every time there is a mass shooting," he said.
