Ten years ago, six UCSB students were killed in Isla Vista.
“Ten years ago on this day, fear, horror, despair, now today we remember.”
The words of Richard Martinez, father of victim Christopher Michaels-Martinez, echoed through Isla Vista’s remembrance garden Thursday. Later on, Martinez recalled the day he brought his son to UCSB.
“I can just remember the joy of that moment, how excited he was, how full of, you know, hope and dreams and just, just brimming, brimming with excitement to be here,” he said.
More than 50 people attended the remembrance event, placing flowers on benches crafted in memory of each student.
“Chris was everything to us. Nothing that I thought was important before Chris killed is important to me. Now, because, you know, the only thing that's important to me now is trying to do what I can to make sure other parents don’t have to go through what we did,” Martinez said.
Following the Isla Vista tragedy, Martinez’s advocacy, along with community members and local legislators, helped passed red flag laws in California.
“And this law came about from the Isla Vista tragedy, and we were the first state to enact it and now, 21 states have these extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flag laws,” said Kendall Pata.
Pata is with Moms Demand Action and stressed the importance of advocacy on a local level.
“Gun violence on a national scale is completely overwhelming, but we are making progress locally at a small level,” Pata said.
For those left behind, carrying the weight of unthinkable loss, healing takes many forms.
“People say you'll get over it, you'll heal. That isn't the reality for me, and I want to remember. I don't want to forget,” Martinez said.
