Ethan Song’s Parents Attend Vigil For Gun Victims In Washington

GUILFORD, CT - The parents of Ethan Song spent several days in Washington, D.C. this week with others who are trying to get politicians to enact tougher gun ownership laws and to also remember the lives of those lost.

The national vigil for all victims of gun violence was first held in 2012 to honor the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown and to call for action.

Since then, over 700,000 Americans have been killed or injured by a gun and the vigil has expanded to support all victims and survivors of gun violence in the U.S.

This year’s vigil - the seventh - brought together hundreds of survivors, advocates, and lawmakers from across the country to remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and to recommit to the fight against gun violence.

The Songs, Mike and Kristin, Ethan’s parents who have become outspoken advocates for safe storage laws, were among them.

“The vigil was extremely moving,” said Mike Song. Kristin (Song) gave an amazing speech at the end.”

Mike Song added: “Roseanne Cash performed along with a number of amazing artists and speakers.

“Since last year, we’ve grown to love these people so much. Each survivor has an amazing story. Some seek healing, others justice for a child that was murdered, some just want to be with people who share the depth of their sorrow,” Mike Song said. “You lose a child, you gain a mission and a global family committed to change.”

Kristin Song added: “We had meaningful and productive meeting with Senate Republicans in D.C., many who are gun owners. Mike showed them the biometric safes, which none of them were aware of, and this seemed to put their minds at ease.”

“We all agreed that a lawful gun owner should be able to access their gun to protect their family but at the same time storing their weapons so that our precious children cannot gain access to them. We are confident that Ethan’s Law will pass,” Kristin Song said.

“One of the very first things the NRA stresses at length is safe storage and to never allow an authorized person to have access to your firearm. Ethan’s Law just codifies what the NRA requires responsible gun owners to do with their guns if they are not in their immediate control. There is no quit in us-we love you Ethan!” said Kristin Song.

The Songs are hoping to get national legislation passed that would be modeled after legislation passed in Connecticut concerning tougher safe gun storage laws. They have the support of the Connecticut Congressional and Senate delegation but so far the Republican-led Senate has refused to vote on the initiative.

The Songs and others make the point that many guns used in mass shootings are often bought in other states than the states in which the shootings occurred - hence the need for national legislation.

“Ethan’s Law” — which would require all firearms, loaded and unloaded, to be safely stored in homes occupied by minors under 18 years of age — was the signature gun control legislation passed, with bipartisan support, in the House and Senate in the recently completed Connecticut General Assembly session.

Kristin and Mike Song shepherded the legislation through Hartford, making numerous trips to the state capital.

Connecticut’s prior safe storage law only requires that loaded firearms be properly stored “if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian of the minor.”

Ethan Song, of Guilford, died of a self-inflicted gunshot. The 15-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head in January of 2018, the Waterbury state’s attorney’s office said after concluding its investigation.

The Harvard School of Public Health found that adolescents who die by suicide are twice as likely to have access to a gun at home than those who survive suicide attempts.

Ethan’s Law wasn’t the only gun bill that made it through the General Assembly this year.

Also winning approval were laws requiring a person to secure their pistol or revolver in a motor vehicle and another that regulates so-called “ghost guns” which are handmade guns or 3-D printed guns without serial numbers.

This law comes as many cities in the United States see rising numbers of gun thefts from cars, seeing year-to-year increases of up to 40 percent; Atlanta sees up to 70 percent of all reported gun thefts being guns stolen from cars.

The ghost gun bill requires the person building the gun to obtain a serial number from the Department of Public Safety and Protection. The bill also prohibits the transfer of the handmade guns and doesn’t allow the manufacture of a 3-D printed gun if it can pass undetected through a metal detector.

These types of guns have been seized in Connecticut towns including Torrington and Waterbury.