‘MEANINGFUL MOMENTS’
Fred Guttenberg speaks about gun violence at Skidmore College
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Fred Guttenberg, a Skidmore College graduate of the Class of 1988 returned to his alma mater Wednesday night to speak in the school’s Gannett Auditorium on a topic he never imagined he’d become so informed about.
A man small in stature, Guttenberg has nevertheless become a force to be reckoned with in his crusade to bring an end to the carnage wrought by gun violence in the United States by advocating for a federal background check to buy ammunition.
The events of the last couple of years of his life that would have paralyzed most people into inactivity have instead been life-altering, action propelling motivators into a new purpose for existence for Guttenberg.
On February 14, 2018, 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was one of 17 people murdered in the Parkland, Florida school shooting. The day after the attack, Guttenberg attended a vigil and was asked to speak.
That was the start of a new public life for Guttenberg. He was angry and quickly realized his new purpose as an advocate in the fight for public safety. But the walking nightmare of Jaime’s loss to gun violence was not where the gut-wrenching loss started for Guttenberg.
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, Guttenberg has emerged as a relentless force for gun reform, meeting with politicians to advocate for what he calls “commonsense, nonpartisan laws, including stronger background checks, red-flag laws, three-day waiting periods, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and raising the age to purchase weapons from 18 to 21.”
It is noteworthy that Guttenberg is not calling for an outright ban on assault rifles. He’s seeking bipartisan legislation that has a real chance of passing and has met with legislators on both sides of the aisle.
By way of welcoming Guttenberg’s 30-minute talk entitled Meaningful Moments in the Aftermath of Gun Violence, Skidmore College Department of Sociology Chair John Bruggemann introduced Guttenberg.
“Normally, I would say that I’m very happy to see you all here this evening, that I’m glad so many people showed up to hear our distinguished speaker. However, I cannot say that. I wish none of you were here tonight; I wish Fred Guttenberg wasn’t here, because he’s here to talk about an appalling personal loss. An atrocity in our society. A pattern of violence that is grotesque, ongoing and unnecessary. Fred Guttenberg knows things that no one wants to know, but things we should all try to understand…”
Guttenberg began his minimalist, focused presentation with images of his daughter on a large screen behind him entitled “This Is Jaime” in the darkened auditorium by exhorting everyone in the room to tell the people they love just that, and he paused to allow people to turn to family members or significant people with them to do so.
He said the last time he was on the Skidmore Campus was two summers ago on a family vacation, the last one while his daughter was still alive. He said one of
the final photos of her were taken by the Olde Bryan Inn restaurant and on the Skidmore campus.
He then led the audience through a visualization exercise saying:
“Think of a vacation, think of someone you love, to the senior students in the room, think of getting your dream job, but, seriously, I want everyone to be in a peaceful, happy place. Is everybody there with me?” he asked the still auditorium.
Guttenberg, then effectively mimicked the sound of a semi-automatic rifle firing in the silent room with his voice, adding “Just like that, you’re the latest victim of gun violence. Just like that, your family, your life is turned upside down. That’s the sound I’ve lived with every single day. My daughter Jaime was a victim of gun violence.”
“I go through every second of every day imagining what she felt like, running down the hall from an active shooter, knowing he was intending to kill her, and knowing that sound was the last thing she ever heard.”
Continuing, he added, “People always say ‘I can’t imagine how you feel.’ Well, I want you all to imagine how I feel. I want you all to think about being victims of gun violence. I want you all to think about someone you love being a victim of gun violence.
“Imagine what it would be like to get that phone call. Then I want you all to decide that you are part of doing something about this.”
Guttenberg described in painful detail the day Jaime was shot, occasionally wiping away tears as he continued speaking, describing what was a typical day in the household as his children ran late for school that Valentine’s Day morning, and then the things that transpired later that afternoon, saying “A year and a half later, I still get choked up, but it’s okay,” Guttenberg said.
A particularly moving portion of Guttenberg’s presentation was a video segment of his daughter competing on a national level as a dancer.
Jaime’s death was not the first experience with deep grief for Guttenberg. Just before the mass shooting in Parkland that killed his daughter, he suffered the loss two years ago today, on October 17, of his beloved brother, Dr. Michael Guttenberg, who passed away due to cancer-related during his 9/11 service.
Michael was described by his employer, Northwell Health as ‘ An emergency services leader at Northwell Health and a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) first responder to the World Trade Center terror attacks on September 11, 2001.
“Michael Guttenberg’s work exposed him to dust and smoke laden with dangerous toxicants such as jet fuel, PCBs, dioxins, and pulverized glass, drywall, and cement. He developed pancreatic cancer at age 46 of what has become referred to as ‘Ground Zero illness.’
Guttenberg described frequent flights to care for his brother during his illness and coping with his loss when the second wave of adversity hit his family in the shooting that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Guttenberg said that days after his daughter’s death, both former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich reached out to him personally.
Guttenberg spoke openly about his faith in “a higher power” being shattered and that now he puts his faith in the kindness and love demonstrated to him by people since his traumatic experiences. The title of his presentation reflects his attempt to tackle life as it is now for him one day, one step at a time.
Notable at the event was the presence of many Saratoga Springs school board members, administrators, and politicians who participated earlier in the year in a season of campaigning bitterly divided over, among other issues, the debate over supporting armed security officers in the Saratoga Springs school district.
Guttenberg stated his support for a system of accountability, training, and skills in properly addressing the emotional components of the issue for any school safety personnel.
Guttenberg lives in Parkland, Florida with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Jesse. He now spends his time urging elected officials to do more. He persistently pursues strategies to enhance public safety, enact gun safety measures and turn out the vote through Orange Ribbons for Jaime, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Jaime’s life.