What to Know
- The widow of a Parkland school shooting victim is calling for stronger gun laws.
- She says she does not want to "infringe on anybody’s second amendment rights."
- Seventeen people were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.
Debbi Hixon, whose husband Chris Hixon was fatally shot in the Parkland school shooting tragedy, is speaking out and turning her grief into advocacy.
Chris Hixon was the athletic director and wrestling coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He was killed while attempting to save the lives of students.
"We’re just trying to make sense of everything. I think we still don't believe its true," Debbi Hixon said. "Still kind of have the feeling that he’s just going to come walking through the door."
In the near-month since the school shooting, Hixon has turned advocated for a sales ban of some weapons, such as semi-automatic rifles and AR-15s. She has even reached out to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
"For that particular legislator, what he can do for me is try to make the gun law stricter so that this can't happen again," Hixon said. "I’m not asking for anybody to ban all guns, I understand they have a place. We have a gun. I don't agree with them but I understand their purpose."
Hixon said she doesn't completely agree with the gun control law passed but said it's a starting point, adding that more people need to vote.
Local
"I was trying to be focused but not emotional. I wasn’t trying to be political. I want people to understand I’m not trying to infringe on anybody’s Second Amendment rights," Hixon added.
Hixon said she used to be against the death penalty. However, after her experience and the death of her husband, she believes the death penalty against the gunman would be justice.
