PARKLAND, Fla. – Friday marked seven years since the tragic school shooting in Parkland. Parents of one of the victims continue to fight against gun violence.
The parents of Joaquin Oliver are featured in a new immersive museum experience, which the Olivers hope will change minds and create change.
The Oliver family has channeled their grief into activism to prevent gun violence.
On the eve of the tragedy’s anniversary, they are highlighting that work in Washington D.C.
“We are just ready to continue to fight and work,” Patricia Oliver, the mother of Joaquin Oliver, said.
Patricia Oliver and her husband Manuel have opened an exhibit in Washington D.C. focused on their advocacy to end gun violence.
“I lost my chance. They took that opportunity away from me. They took his human rights,” she said.
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The immersive exhibit highlights some of the family’s most impactful and controversial efforts and the devastating effects of gun violence through technology and art.
“It is not easy as a parent of a kid to gun violence, so we keep going, and I think that we found this path and I think we can motivate a lot of people to do the same thing,” Patricia Oliver said.
The exhibit also features a play called “Guac,” Joaquin’s nickname, as the Parkland community prepares for the seventh anniversary of the tragedy. Seventeen people died after the gunman opened fire.
“No one wants to be me, and for that reason, I invite everyone to be conscious of the importance of having safe gun laws,” Oliver said.
The Olivers continue to push for gun law reform like universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. They remain hopeful that under a new administration, they will see those changes.
“For Mr. Trump to understand that his citizens, that he cares a lot about Make America Great Again, make us safer,” Oliver said.
The exhibit, called “Change,” is being held at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington through Sunday.