Peacemaker Winter 2013 - National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia

thE traUma
of GUN ViolENCE
aNd hEEdiNG
God's Call
bY bRYan MIlleR, 2009 sT. RITa
PeaCe aWaRD ReCIPIenT
For many years following Mike's death I lived and worked
in New Jersey and led a secular gun violence prevention
advocacy organization, Ceasefire NJ, that succeeded in
vastly improving the regulation of guns in the Garden
State, to the extent that New Jersey now has one of the
lowest statewide per capita rates of gun death in the
country.
For the last four years, though, I've been thrilled to lead a
growing faith-based and grassroots movement to prevent
gun violence, Heeding God's Call (www.heedinggodscall.org),
two EVENiNGs before
Thanksgiving in 1994 I received a
phone call no one wants to get. My
sister Lisa had the wrenching family
duty to call to tell me that our only
brother, FBI Special Agent Mike
Miller, had been shot and killed earlier
that day. Mike, his female FBI
partner and a Washington, DC
Metropolitan Police sergeant were
shot and killed by a lone gunman
wielding a concealed assault pistol.
My family learned that horrific day
about the trauma of gun violence.
Thanksgiving used to be my favorite
holiday, but I have found it difficult
to appreciate and enjoy since Mike
was killed. And, the shock of losing
a loved one to such sudden, inexplicable
and outsized violence
remains with all of us. Yet, we go
on faithful and hopeful.
We also learned that gun violence
affects a far greater circle than just
family. Neighbors, co-workers and
whole communities are dramatically
damaged in both obvious and hidden
ways by acts of gun violence.
Trauma is not limited.
my journey to both faith and emotional
health began immediately
following, and both are of a piece
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with the work i took up to prevent
future acts of gun violence. my dormant
faith was awakened by a felt
need for God's presence and Jesus'
example of caring for all people.
My emotional health was saved,
sustained and improved by devoting
myself to reducing the likelihood
that other families would suffer the
gun trauma mine did and does.
Since that evening in '94 I've
watched and contemplated the
reactions of others who have
endured acts of gun violence. Some
seek to avoid the grief, loss and
shock by trying to 'bury' those
emotions and 'moving on.' Others
maintain a powerful anger, devoting
themselves to punishment of the
violent, believing that such will
grant them the commercial notion
of 'closure.'
in my view and experience, though,
those victims who find succor best
are those who remain unseduced by
the notion of closure, but who seek
to promote positive solutions to the
problem of gun violence. doing
exactly that has made my faith
stronger and gone far to heal my loss.
THEIR RELIGIOUS duty TO care FOR THEIR FELLOWS
whose operative theory is that people and communities of
all faith traditions recognize their religious duty to care for
their fellows and who wish to do so by looking to save lives
from gun violence.
Heeding takes a new and effective direction, by seeking to
get people of faith to campaign to persuade gun retailers
to eschew selling to those, 'straw buyers' and gun traffickers,
who would put guns on the street and in the hands of
those prohibited from possessing them. These are the
very guns used to threaten, wound, maim and kill.
continued on next page
Heeding Gods Call Prayer Vigil, murder site near shrine, Fall , 2012
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