#8 | The Aftermath of Gun Violence: Sen. Tom Sullivan & Lt. Jordan Witt

Written By Deborah Rohan
 

 CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH VIDEO RECORDING 

Episode #8 features two guests, both impacted by the same mass shooting. 

Colorado State Senator Tom Sullivan began working to end gun violence in 2012 after his son, Alex, was murdered along with eleven others in a mass shooting in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado. Tom and his family’s lives were torn apart, forever altered by the loss of such a beloved and vibrant young man. Fraught with grief and consumed by a desire to make change, Tom retired from a nearly 30-year career with the postal service to run for office in the Colorado House of Representatives. His driving mission was to work for tighter gun safety restrictions so others would not have to endure the excruciating loss he and his family live with every day.

After serving two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, Tom was elected to the State Senate in 2022. In this new role, he continues the tradition he began in the House: every Friday­­­­­­ — the day of the week Alex was killed­ –– Tom stands on the floor of the Colorado Senate and announces exactly how long it has been since he lost his only son to gun violence:

“Today is the 552nd Friday since my son Alex was murdered in theatre massacre on July 20, 2012… I want to remind you that many in our communities are repeatedly faced with acts of violence…I would ask you to do what you can and be the change.”

Jordan Witt was watching the same midnight movie in the same Aurora movie theater when Tom's son and eleven other victims were murdered.  She had graduated from high school just two months earlier, and was eagerly anticipating her freshmen year of college. Jordan describes the incident from which she escaped physically unharmed (her friend beside her was shot in the leg) as one that especially traumatized her family who knew how close they came to losing her. 

A month after the shooting Jordan began her freshman year at the University of Denver, where she joined the ROTC. Her journey to healing was uneven. Eager to attend college, she often felt alone with her trauma, not wanting to bring up the event with new friends. She did not seek counseling, gaining solace by relying on her family and friends, including survivors of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. She says she thinks the time may be coming when she will seek counseling, albeit now eleven years later.

In her sophomore year, Jordan transferred to the University of Colorado in Boulder on an ROTC scholarship, majoring in Asian Studies with a focus on the Middle East. In 2016, she graduated from CU and was commissioned as an officer in the Navy. She moved to Pensacola for flight school and met her now-husband, Arthur, who is also a Naval Officer. 

Jordan is now a Navy Lieutenant and serves her country as an instructor pilot flying the P-8A.

The United States faces a gun violence health crisis that is taking the lives of 106 individuals each day on average. 39 are murdered. 64 die by suicide. 2 are unintentional deaths. We can each work for greater gun safety to reduce gun deaths and injuries. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

✨ Raise Awareness

✨ Donate

✨ Lobby

✨ Contact your Representatives

✨ Write the editor of your local newspaper and national news outlets

✨ Find a candidate who supports gun safety regulations and help their campaigns

✨ Check your local chapter of groups working to end gun violence to get information and attend a meeting:

 
Deborah Rohan
Previous

#9 | Dr. Anita Sanchez: Sharing Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Our World
Next

#7 | Nora Kramer: Training Youth & Adults to Make Change Happen