Isla Vista victim’s dad devotes life to curbing “gun violence”
Since his son’s death last year, Richard Martinez has dedicated much of his life to advancing gun control legislation across the nation. Noreen O’Donnell for NBC San Diego reports:
The former criminal defense lawyer who once gave little thought to the number of people shot in the United States now cares only about making sure others do not die as his 20-year-old son did.
“I feel a sense of urgency,” he said this week. “I feel like the longer it takes us to get these things done, the more people are going to die for no good reason. It’s that important. So for me, this is a matter of life and death.”
Martinez is a senior outreach associate for Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. He has traveled the country asking voters to back candidates in favor of what the group calls common-sense gun legislation. He worked to get gun control measures passed in California and Washington and to turn back other bills in Florida….
Martinez’s activism began immediately after the shootings, at a sheriff’s office news conference where he emotionally denounced “craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA.” At his son’s memorial he challenged the mourners to send postcards to their political representatives with what was becoming his mantra, “Not One More.
Read the full article at NBC San Diego.
