It’s been six years since members of the community first gathered at Pine Trails Park to remember the 17 people killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
On Wednesday evening, as has become tradition, religious leaders prayed and musicians played songs as people congregated at the park just a mile away from the high school to memorialize the lives lost. Hundreds spread out on the lawn to be a part of the healing power of collective grief that has become a part of the Parkland community.
“Despite all circumstances in our life, love ultimately always wins,” Rev. Steven Blinder, leads the Royal Palm Christian Church in Coral Springs, told the crowd. “God doesn't only bless our memories, but God uses those memories to strengthen us, to build us, and to grow love inside each of us.”
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Some parents brought their children, many of them too young to remember the shooting. Therapy dogs, a mainstay at most Parkland events, floated through the crowd offering those gathered something to hold, pet and hug.
Shana Lardi came with her daughter, who was at a nearby elementary school during the 2018 shooting.
“It's hard to kind of dig it all up again,” she said. “But it's just nice to commemorate everything and remember what happened and not forget.”
News of another mass shooting spread as the event progressed. At least one person died, and 22 others were injured during a super bowl victory parade in Kansas City.
“There is too much gun violence in our country. We need to come together to solve that kind of problem,” said Tony Montalto. “No one side has the answer. But as we've seen, there has been progress in this.”
For Montalto, the news of another mass shooting was an upsetting reminder of the prevalence of gun violence that still exists. Montalto lost his daughter Gina in the Parkland shooting. She was a member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Color Guard, a Girl Scout and an active member in her local church.
“They were children with bright futures ahead of them,” he said of the students killed in the shooting. “And hopefully a magnificent memorial like that will inspire all of us to live a little better.”
Montalto heads Stand With Parkland, a group formed to advocate for school safety reforms, improved mental health support and responsible firearms ownership. The group is primarily made up of relatives of the victims. He says he finds hope in new legislation that he and others in the group have advocated for.
“We saw the bipartisan Safer Communities Act get passed,” he said. “Some of the most significant gun legislation to pass Congress in 30 years. So all these things are little steps”
The law helps keep guns out of the wrong hands through supporting states' red flag laws and provides support to states and local communities working to intervene in this crisis. It also provides money for school safety programs and mental health care.
Montalto says a new school safety bill making its way through the state legislature is another reason he remains motivated to push for change.
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