06/10/2022
The recent news regarding gun violence in this country has been frightening, saddening, and devastating. It is an unfortunate part of our reality that this is such a frequent occurrence, where we learn the facts and the lives lost unnecessarily.
Many of you probably saw the story from last week, when a man in Tulsa, Oklahoma blamed his physician for pain after a recent back surgery and went into a medical building at Saint Francis Hospital where he shot and killed his physician, Preston J. Phillips, M.D., along with three other people, before killing himself.
This story has hit close to home because we knew Preston Phillips. I went to middle school and some of high school with his son and played basketball with his son for years. Preston was an active and involved father at our games. I fondly remember Preston being the best basketball player of all the dads during a dads versus sons game. Preston was also a fantastic and personable doctor. When I broke my foot playing basketball in eighth grade, I went to see him at his clinic at Swedish Medical Center. He gave me great medical care and I was back to full speed quickly. Their family had moved to Oklahoma and Preston became a well-respected member of the community.
One of the most tragic parts about this event is that the facts show it was likely preventable with more effective laws in place. The shooter purchased an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle at about 2:00pm. Less than three hours later, he had completed the slaughter.
In Washington State, we are fortunate to have several laws in place to prevent gun violence, including requiring universal background checks during gun sales, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and disallowing people under 21 to buy semiautomatic weapons. However, there are still no federal laws governing any of these items. It is disappointing that we as a country have fallen short and not made the nation a place where all our fellow citizens feel safe. America prides itself on its ability to defend oneself and one’s home, but changes must be made to our laws to keep up with the technological advancements to weapons.
We stand with this movement to help solve the unacceptable level of gun-related violence and death in our country.