Vigil for victims of gun violence held in Sarasota, featuring speaker who lost her teen son to a gun accident

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Kristen Song has a very difficult story to share but a very important one. Back in 2018, her 15-year-old son Ethan died at a friend’s home from an unsecured gun.

“The ER doctor who happens to be from our hometown came in, slid down the wall, buried his head to his hands and said your son is gone,” said Song. “And literally when those words passed his mouth, I could just see my world imploding into a million tiny pieces.”

Song speaking at a vigil in Sarasota remembering victims of gun violence. She has been a leading advocate nationally for safer gun laws, especially when it comes to unsecured guns, helping pass Ethan’s law in Connecticut. That’s a law named after her son that she’s now pushing for throughout the country.

“My husband and I started looking at all the other states and we realized there’s such a lack of child access prevention laws in this country,” said Song. “And that is what is really going to save the majority of these children that are dying by gun violence.”

Friday night’s vigil hosted by the Brady: United Against Gun Violence. It did feature candles being lit for victims who have died from gun violence in a variety of ways. Highlights of the night also included speakers and a special performance by a group of singers and a choir. Carol Rescigno got involved after one of her family members was gunned down during the Sandy Hook massacre 10 years ago. He was just 7-years-old. Their organization has been working hard for years for stricter gun safety laws.

“We spend a lot of time rallying for better gun laws and a lot of it is very powerful, but something like this gives you a chance to stop and remember these people,” said Resigno, President of Brady Sarasota.

For more information on Brady Sarasota you can click on this link https://fl.bradyunited.org/.

For more information on the Ethan Miller Song Foundation you can click onto https://www.songstrong.org/home/.