The Muncie mayor came out to show support for a former Ball State employee and other victims of gun violence.
Garth Rector, an employee of Ball State, was shot and killed by an intruder in his home in 2008.
For Saturday’s walk, supporters gathered around the steps of Muncie’s City Hall, some wearing shirts portraying the face of a person killed.
“I get to meet different people who went through what I’m going through,” said Barbara Young, a guest speaker who lost two of her children to gun violence.
Garth’s parents said having other families around them who have similar experiences has helped in the healing process.
“Sadness loves company,” Garth’s father, Billy Rector, said. “So we have company in these people here.”
After friends and families walked about a mile near downtown, Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler, a long-time friend of the Rector family, stressed his support for awareness.
“I think the most important thing is that educating the public on the dangers of guns,” Tyler said.
Tyler said he is a member of Mayors Against Gun Violence and advocates for criminal background checks to be done before someone can have a gun permit.
“I definitely believe there should be stricter requirements for licensing and permits,” Tyler said.
Unlike the mayor and Lockhart, Bethany Cmar, another supporter, said her opinion on the second amendment was not changed after her sister-in-law, Chris Gestrich, was killed in a gun crime last year.
This was Cmar’s second year at Garth Walk.
“I think we as citizens have the right to bear arms and I’ve got one in my truck right now,” she said.
Still, the different opinions held by attendees didn’t outweigh the communal support the walk provided.
“I think just coming together and sharing our experiences, everybody seems to go down the same path of grief, but we’re all in different stages,” she said.
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