Who Will Speak For Your Family In The Wake Of Tragedy?

At least one family member of the nine dead in Dayton, OH, wants the president to make a trip to the Buckeye State. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Damon Davenport said two of his cousins were killed in the shooting.

Davenport’s grief was palpable as he talked with the news network. “I’m lost for words right now. My family’s lost for words right now. But I’ve got to remain strong. You have people in high places. I’m going to get on every news stations and shout this out,” Davenport said.

He used the interview about his dead family members to demand action in the wake of their deaths:

“We have gun laws, people can just go and buy guns and not even be registered and not even qualify. They can just walk into a gun store and buy high-powered equipment and walk right out and kill people in broad daylight, broad nighttime, you know? This has got to stop. This has got to stop. And today is the day is going to be the day it does stop. I’m shouting out to the President of the U.S. I want this to go viral. I’m gonna make sure that this is on every news station because my cousins did not deserve to lose their life. They have children, hardworking people.”

There are no deserving victims of gun violence, particularly the kind that left at least 29 dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton. Davenport may have said he was at a loss for words, but his eloquence in the face of grief is something I couldn’t imagine doing within 24 hours of the death of one family member, let alone two.

“All they were doing was enjoying a night on the town and they’re dead. Never to come home again, never to see their family again. They’re gone. I want the president to hear this,” Davenport said. “Donald Trump, I want you to hear this. You need to be here right now. You need too.”