Documentary highlights gun control topic

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- After the recent Arizona shooting, a documentary shown on Stanford's campus Thursday night highlighted the topic of gun control. The film is called, "Living For 32." It documents the recovery of one of the shooting victims after the Virginia Tech massacre and his mission to create more gun control.

"I was shot four times. Once above my knee, through both my hips and through my shoulder," said Colin Goddard, a Virginia Tech shooting victim.

That happened on April 16, 2007. Goddard was in French class at Virginia Tech when the shooting started. That day 32 people died and he was one of the 17 who was injured.

Thursday night, there was a special screening of "Living For 32" -- it follows Goddard's recovery and advocacy for gun control. In the film, he wore a hidden camera to show how easy it is to buy guns. The local premiere also comes just five days after the mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona.

"How many more people need to be killed? Does it need to be more than 32, like it was at my school? Does it need to be a senator? Does it need to be the president?" asked Goddard.

"The shooter on Saturday was actually mentally disturbed, as was the person who shot me," said Mindy Finkelstein, a Granada Hills shooting victim.

Finkelsteen was also shot in an attack at a Jewish day camp in Southern California in 1999. Finkelsteen attended the screening to get support for more gun control and regulation.

Responsible Citizens of California supports the second amendment and the right to bear arms. Members don't want any sweeping judgments made against them because of what's happened.

"We can't just lump all guns into one thing. We have to look at the individual operating the gun and keep it out of the hands of the bad people and get the good people to learn how to use a gun properly," says Adnon Shahab from Responsible Citizens of California.

"A gun does not pick itself off a table and shoot someone. Someone has to pull the trigger," said Chuck Michel, from the California Pistol and Rifle Association.

Gun proponents insist it's illegal for criminals and the mentally ill to own a gun. And in all of the country's rampages, the individuals involved were breaking the law.

Still, both sides do agree, there needs to be a more streamlined federal legislation in place because right now there is a lot of confusion and problems because all of the states have different gun control laws.

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palo alto, stanford university, tucson shooting, south bay news, lisa amin gulezian

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