AMHERST — On his son’s 18th birthday, Manuel Oliver was not at home celebrating with a cake. Instead, he was at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Virginia protesting gun violence and painting a mural.
Before he could turn 18, Joaquin Oliver was one of 17 people shot and killed with a semi-automatic AR-15 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14, 2018. Seventeen others were injured. The shooter, then 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges and faces the death penalty.
Many surviving students turned to activism in the wake of the massacre and started March For Our Lives. Manuel and his wife, Patricia Oliver, now speak out against gun violence, too.
“It could happen to you … Any time, any place,” he said while speaking about his experiences turning his family’s tragedy into gun reform activism before a crowd of more than 100 students and others at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Hannah Karcinell, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas graduate, is a freshman at the university and organized the event.
Oliver, 51, is an artist and decided after the school shooting to use his talents to bring attention to gun violence in creative ways. In memory of their son, the Olivers also started a group called Change the Ref, which pushes for gun control.
“We can’t bring Joaquin back, but we can keep you here,” Manuel Oliver said, pointing to the crowd.
Oliver has painted dozens of murals across the country, most recently creating one in Boston over the weekend depicting Joaquin wearing a shirt that reads, “I wish I was here.” He put a bullet-proof vest on the “Fearless Girl” statue in New York City — a move that he said nearly got him arrested — and in reaction to the availability of online instructions for 3D printed guns, he made a 3D printed statue of his son which he brought to a protest in front of the White House. Change the Ref also started a project that takes social media posts about gun control, turns them into written letters in Joaquin’s handwriting and sends them to legislators.
Oliver remembered Joaquin as someone who loved to sing, dance and play basketball, and he showed the room some videos of Joaquin dancing happily. “That’s Joaquin, he loved to dance all around the house,” he said, then added, “It was so fun, until that day.”
He said his son was a supporter of stricter gun laws, as evidenced by a letter he wrote at age 13, which Oliver showed the crowd.
“Dear U.S. gun owner,” it reads, “I am writing this letter to talk to you about how we’re going to solve this gun law movement … Why are you mad there’s a background check? It’s for your own good.”
Also from Parkland, Karcinell is majoring in political science at UMass, a decision influenced by the shooting. Before the tragedy, she wanted to be a lawyer, but now she told the room, “My goal is to be a congresswoman.”
When asked about the level of awareness about gun violence on campus, Karcinell said because the laws in Massachusetts are stricter, “They (UMass students) don’t necessarily see how much of a problem it can be in other parts of the country and the world.”
Although the laws may be tighter in the commonwealth, the gun that killed Joaquin was manufactured in Springfield at Smith & Wesson. At a church near Smith & Wesson, Oliver created a mural last spring.
Change is possible, Oliver said. To illustrate that point, he put a cigarette in his mouth, “Can I smoke here?” he asked. “No,” a voice from the crowd shouted.
Thirty years ago, he said, he would have been able to smoke there, but the rules have changed. “It’s disgusting and we decided as a society that is was disgusting,” he said. “So how come you’re allowed to carry a gun next to me? That’s disgusting.”
He also pointed to New Zealand, whose leaders have said they will strengthen gun control rules after a mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand last week. The calls for change happened soon after the shooting, but the same urgency for policy change in the U.S. is lacking, he said.
“It’s been a year and something since they murdered my son,” he said.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com