“My Sister, Nina, was in an abusive relationship with a man who she married after a very brief courtship. Given their mental state and history, neither of them should have ever been legally allowed to purchase firearms. The state of North Carolina does not have any Red Flag or Extreme Risk laws. Her husband was very easily able to purchase an AR-15 as well as several other firearms. In October of 2012, Nina was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head. She had been shot with an AR-15.

We pressed for six years to understand the lack of information and evidence in the case. In late 2018, a private investigator concluded that Nina had, in fact, committed suicide. He provided supporting details and evidence that the police department neglected to inform. In his findings, he included that she had written a note a few days before indicating that she felt the only way she could escape him was to kill him or herself. 

It has been over six years. Some days are much harder than others. You don't ever stop or "get over" the grief. It just changes over the years. There is a lot of trauma, direct and vicarious when you are impacted by gun violence. Once it enters your life, every shooting feels like your own. Every slammed door or dropped book became a gunshot. Every public place feels like an open door for a shooting. Every person entering your space becomes suspicious or a "danger". Every hug hello or goodbye feels like it could be the last. And now, after finding out the truth about my sister, I am reminded of the days when the grief was so excruciating that I too rationalized why it would be best for everyone if I just took my own life. I am grateful every single day that I did not have access to a gun in the times I felt that way.

Since then, I have become a part of the fight to end gun violence. Nina should be here. But there are no laws in place to have protected her from her husband or herself. I have dedicated my life to advocating for victims of gun violence and to help strengthen our nation’s irresponsible, weak, and quite frankly archaic, gun laws.”

-Yvonne Crasso, Connecticut, Board Member of Newtown Action Alliance