Triumph Through Tragedy

Ms. Carin Seals speaking at the event on Saturday at Renaissance Park in Lancaster

On Saturday, July 13, Carin Seals of Triumph Through Tragedy hosted the second annual barbeque to honor those loved ones taken by gunfire. Souls Shot Portrait Project was honored to be invited to have a table at the event and to be able to speak to the gathered crowd. It was a blistering hot day made bare able by the love that surrounded these grieving families (and a very cool slip and slide for the kids). I was joined by wonderful volunteer Jeannie Boehner and we heard many, many tales of remembrance of loved ones. The heartbreaking stories are made more so by some of the recounted reasons for the shootings. In every case, EVERY case, the if a gun had not been readily available, it would have been a fist fight or a few exchanged harsh words.

The irony of arriving home Saturday evening to hear news of a presidential candidate being shot was cause for reflection. The media’s quest seems to always be for a motive. The motives of gun crimes don’t really matter! What causes the harm, the destruction, is the availability of guns! There will no doubt be endless commentaries, nevertheless, on motive, on mental health status, etc., etc., with little focus on the ease and the ubiquity of guns in our American culture.

Families and communities are grieving unnecessarily because of our country’s refusal to truly address gun safety. We are grateful to our participants and our future participants for their willingness to share their stories with our passionate artists and continue to work for peace through artworks.

Thank you Carin for all that you do and thanks to all the other brave souls who work on through their grief to change hearts and minds and, hopefully, public policies.

Laura Madeleilne