'My life forever changed': Fiancé of Raleigh mass shooting victim advocates for gun safety bills
The fiancé of a Raleigh mass shooting victim spoke Tuesday with state Democratic leaders about proposed changes to North Carolina’s gun laws.
Rob Steele lost his fiancée Mary Marshall in the October 2022 mass shooting in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood. Marshall was among five people killed.
“My life forever changed Oct. 13 of [2022],” Steele said of his late wife. “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Steele joined Democratic leaders Tuesday at the General Assembly as they introduced multiple gun safety bills. It included House Bill 281- the red flag law - sponsored by state Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, that would temporarily restrict a person’s access to a gun, if they are a danger to themselves or others.
Steele said he gave up his gun on the night of the Oct. 13, 2022, mass shooting for fear he could act irrationally.
“If I had my gun, I might have made a dumb decision, and that happens all the time,” Steele said.
Steele explained why he gave his gun to law enforcement the night his fiancée was killed.
“I red-flagged myself,” he said. “I was smart enough to know that I was not going to be ok.”
Steele said he believes red flag laws help save lives.
“It’s time for North Carolina to have a judge that can make decisions that a gun owner is not responsible and safe to have their gun,” Steele said. “Allow a judge to take the gun for a temporary amount of time so that [the gun owner] can get help.”
State Rep. James Roberson, D-Wake County, spoke Tuesday about what happened during the Hedingham mass shooting.
“We saw firsthand damage that can be done [when the] wrong people [have] access to firearms,” Roberson said.
North Carolina has had seven mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting involves at least four people shot, not including the shooter, in a single shooting spree, which can include multiple locations.
Morey called it a “public health crisis,” citing 13 guns found last month in North Carolina public schools.
On Tuesday night during Gov. Roy Cooper’s State of the State address, he discussed how he believes North Carolina lawmakers need to make changes.
“Let’s take affirmative steps to make life safer for brave [law enforcement officers] and everyday people by keeping guns away from children and criminals and those a danger to themselves or others,” Cooper said.
Cooper stated how death by gunfire has surpassed car crashes as the No. 1 cause of injury deaths for children.
“If you support responsible gun ownership that we are granted under the Second Amendment, then we cannot accept this,” Cooper said.
Lawmakers have also introduced three other bills, which are designed to reduce gun violence deaths across the state.
Morey also introduced House Bill 284, which would allow law enforcement to destroy unclaimed guns, or those confiscated after crimes.
Senate Bill 210 – known as the Gun Violence Prevention Act – would require authorization to purchase an assault weapon or long gun, and require a waiting period of 72 hours before it’s delivered.
Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee met Tuesday afternoon and discussed a bill that would make it easier for people to buy guns and carry concealed weapons in more places. The bill would make several other changes to state gun laws, including allowing handguns on school property where religious services are being held. It would also allow people to buy pistols from private sellers without a background check.
