After my article about the shooting was published, I received a lot of feedback, mostly from close friends and family telling me how interesting it was, some from Joy, telling me how much it meant to her that we did this together. I was also approached by a citizen of Lafayette, and a close friend of Joy's, with a different opinion on the subject:
"I carry a concealed weapon. Why? Because I have children and this world is full of crazies such as the man, John Houser... Am I a responsible gun owner? Yes, sir. Do I acknowledge that every bullet in my hand gun represents a life in the event it has to be discharged? Yes, sir! I went through courses, FBI checks and local and state background checks in order to receive a permit.
"My views are as follows: If my life or my children's life is at risk, I would rather die trying to prevent someone shooting or raping my children or my self by using something I am trained to use responsibly, than to watch helplessly... People can always obtain firearms illegally. Those people do not follow any rules and guns pass hands every day. This was a horrible crushing incident and no one should have to deal with the hurt these families have felt.
"This movie theater was a NO gun zone, so concealed carry permit holders would have had to not have their firearm on. But if, in fact, someone responsible and trained were in that theater, I am 100% sure this deranged man would not have shot off 13 rounds and reloaded."
She added: "I love [Joy] Alicia. And her family. They are wonderful. We are on different spectrums about gun control. But we still honor and love each other. We respectfully debate this issue and agree with some things, such as all firearms should be registered. In Louisiana they do not have to be, and I feel the owner has a responsibility and it should be registered in their name.
"But I just want people to know that responsible gun owners do not act this way. We own $1000 safes to hold our firearms and they are not just laying on the kitchen table for a baby to grab and shoot themselves. When you see news stories, these are NOT concealed carry or even responsible owners."
I recently looked back on what she said, and what Joy said, and I've decided to revisit the issue. Have things changed in Lafayette? Are they still mourning? Are steps being taken to make sure things like this never happen again?
"This is still a big deal here." says Joy. "It's still felt by everyone. Victory Festival took place on September 26th for Jillian Johnson, and UL students wore purple for Mayci Breaux on September 25th. Our community is working hard to remember them, and I think that when events like this happen, a soft spot in our heart forever remembers the tragedy." When I asked her if there had been any meaningful legislation passed in Louisiana to prevent more incidents like Lafayette from happening since the shooting, she simply said, "No."
The time for mourning, she says, is passing. "I think we are slowly getting to a point where we no longer want to mourn--we want to remember and honor and respect. And we are doing just that, whether it be through the festival or simply wearing a specific color throughout the city." Are her feelings still the same as they were two months ago? "Yes, except maybe just a little less raw, a little less emotional."
So what, in Joy's opinion, is the next step for Lafayette? "The community should just continue doing what it is--remembering the strong women who passed. The government, I still believe, should work to make sure tragedies like this do not happen again."
Erica Gutierrez, another resident of Lafayette, has a similar opinion. "For a place as family oriented as Lafayette, I didn't think anything like this would even happen. I didn't really know anyone that was in the theater the day of, but I know it must really hurt for the families of the victims. It does feel weird to pass by a place that used to be busy almost all the time, to now a crime scene with a gate in front of it and an empty parking lot."
When asked about the state of the nation's gun control laws, Erica replied, "I honestly don't have a problem with guns. I believe in the saying, 'It's not guns that kill people. It's people that kill people.'" But she agrees, the tragedy is still felt by the whole town. "I see signs up everywhere, "Lafayette Strong." Everyone took this very hard, but there were days when the community got together to pray for the victims. I thought it was wonderful to see a bunch of strangers pray for people they didn't even know."
Looking back on the shooting after two months, "I think the community has gotten stronger and closer together." Erica says. "I think people have learned to be safer when they're not home and even to be grateful that they are alive." Still, Erica doesn't know where Lafayette is headed. "I'll let God decide that one, but I know security may tighten in some places. Who knows?"
AnneMarie Fruge has a slightly different opinion. "I feel the tragedy still effects us as a community, though it is not talked about as much. I feel that people believe that, by slowly pretended to forget about the tragedy, it will get better. I guess this is the simplest of our natural reactions, but I think our community deserves better." Although she didn't know the victims, the tragedy still hit close to home for AnneMarie. "The tragedy still effects me because the theater is only two minutes from my house and I have to pass by it every day. I have spent many nights there, not different from the night of the shooting. I still hate to think about it because you never think it will happen so close to home."
"I feel our community is still mourning, but trying to keep a prayerful and hopeful mindset." she says. "For instance, [Mayci's]... birthday was last Friday. The family asked the community to where purple as a commemoration. Our entire community heard the word and supported by wearing purple. I think it helped the family and showed how strong this community really can be."
"I think I have really begun to see the beauty I knew this city and state was capable of." she says. "I am proud to be apart of this community."
For AnneMarie, the most important thing for Lafayette is to keep holding onto faith. " I think our next step is to continue to pray and be of support that families and friends, which is so many of us in the community, need. We will continue to show our message of what faith and support of one another can do for the grieving process."
Joy, Erica, and AnneMarie all have differing opinions on how Lafayette can move on, but they all agree on one thing: the community is growing closer and staying strong. In the face of tragedy, it's comforting to see compassion and faith so open and comforting to others. All the same, no one really knows where Lafayette will go from here, but the people of Lafayette know where they've been. Maybe that will be enough to show them how to move forward. For now, they'll keep growing the Victory Garden for Jillian and wearing purple for Mayci. The only way to grow now, for the families of the victims and the people of the town, is up.
