April 16, 2010 marked the third anniversary of the Virginia Tech Tragedy.

The families, faculty, and students are still attempting to regain some sense of equilibrium and peace in their lives.

The Virginia Center for Public Safety encourages all Virginians to be a part of the Hokie family by remembering these special and courageous families and continuing to support them.

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Ladd speaks well for those of us who pusue this work:

To the survivors and family members of the Virginia Tech tragedy:

I just want you to know I’m thinking of you today and what you have lost—whether it was a loved one or the sense of peace and security you had before this tragedy.

In this work, it’s very easy to get caught up in the politics, in the heat of the moment. I sometimes feel myself responding more to the negative energy of some of our opponents than I do the positive energy of the people we are working to help and protect. I regret this.

I was at a meeting yesterday, though, listening to Delegate Norton explain why she thought it was necessary to move forward with the voting rights bill despite the fact that she acknowledges she cannot stop the NRA’s amendment that would gut our gun laws, and I was reminded why I do this work. People are not expendable. Human life is precious. I became emotional speaking at the meeting thinking of a father I had just met with who lost his son in the March 30 mass shooting in Southeast Washington. I was there to offer him comfort as a member of the D.C. Crisis Response Team—but this was his only son, his only child. What will I tell the next father or mother? A vote in the House was more important than your family’s safety?

I wish we had never met. I want you to know that. I am driven by this work because I think it is critical and just. But more importantly, I am driven because I see the character, courage, integrity and decency of the gun violence survivors who I meet on a regular basis. No one should have to go through this.

Sincerely,

Ladd Everitt