On October 25th, 2022, I was shot seven times. 

 

I was driving home from work, when a man began to drive into oncoming traffic. As he was about to cause a head on collision, he changed lanes; this put him directly in front of me. He slammed on his brakes and I rear-ended him. Before I could process my first car accident, he fired nine bullets directly into my car. 

Once the magazine was emptied, he walked up to my passenger window. At this moment, I thought my life was over. Once he saw me, a random woman he didn't know, an emotion washed over his face. I can't say for sure, but to give myself closure, I imagine that the emotion was regret.

I was left to die.

As people crowded my car and continued to drive away, I was begging for someone, anyone, to put pressure on my wounds. I had to call 911 on my own, because the bystanders were in shock. After a few minutes, one person came to my rescue. If it wasn't for this person, I would not be here today.

Because of the shooter’s senseless actions, I had 14 surgeries, flat-lined once, and was hospitalized for 22 days. 

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I did not know this man, our paths never crossed until he was in front of my car. This could have been prevented if the city of Kansas City, the state of Missouri and/or the United States of America had more sensible rules and regulations when it comes to purchasing a firearm.

Kansas City has an overwhelming amount of gun violence. I implore you to visit this page, and count how many *reported* shootings there were in the past week.

https://www.kansascity.com/search/?q=shooting 

I am proposing that all individuals who wish to own a firearm: be older than 25, but no older than 65 years of age, be subjected to mental, physical, and emotional evaluations; and have these evaluations annually.

I am starting this petition not only to continue to raise awareness of gun violence throughout this country, but to ask that open carry states, and the federal government rethink and reevaluate the standards, guidelines, and laws for individuals to purchase firearms. 

I ask that before you ball your fists in anger, or decide that I have no right to speak out, ask yourself, what if this happened to my child?