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By Greg and Joyce Husen

Recently, a news report quoted a local leader of a Second Amendment advocacy group as saying the one incident of the Saint Francis shooting last June should not impact Oklahomans' Second Amendment rights.

What happened that horrific day was not just one incident. For the families and loved ones, it was four murders, one suicide and countless lives forever changed.

For the police officers and first responders, it was a chaotic scene where split seconds saved lives. For the hundreds of health care professionals and patients on lockdown, it was wondering, "Are we next?"

It was five loved ones who did not return home that night. It was five funerals. It was five lives with belongings painstakingly sorted and donated to loved ones or people in need.

For the families, friends and co-workers of those impacted, it involves counseling and ongoing nightmares. It is endless hours of trying to make sense of why and how this happened, and then trying to explain it to your children.

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From June 2 through Dec. 31, 2022, there were 448 mass shootings across the United States, seven occurring in Oklahoma. In total last year, there were 646 mass shootings in the country, with eight in our state, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Each of these one incidents injured or killed four or more people. Each incident required a law enforcement response and left families to deal with the aftermath of a senseless act of violence.

There have been many more in 2023, including recently in a Nashville, Tennessee, elementary school. How many more one incidents of gun violence do we have to observe before we look at public safety differently?

June 1, 2022, was not one incident. What happened that day was not a Second Amendment issue. It was a public safety issue.

It was an infringement on Oklahomans' rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Gun safety and responsible gun ownership are public safety issues.

We have many rules and regulations implemented in other areas of our lives. Speed limits, seat belts, drinking ages, food preparation regulations and smoking bans are all public safety measures. Simple gun safety legislation would save lives and help the citizens of Oklahoma heal from the Saint Francis tragedy.

Because our legislators fail to act, many believe nothing can be done. If you are affected by one of these incidents, saying nothing can be done is not an option.

Survivors and family members of gun violence cannot change things by ourselves.

Contact your legislators and tell them you are concerned about public safety. Tell your legislators you want them to support gun safety legislation to make Oklahoma a safer place for your family.

Tell them that expanding access to firearms to younger Oklahomans and reducing training requirements are not the path to a safer Oklahoma.

Educate yourself and understand a candidates position on public safety issues, including gun safety, before you vote in the next election. Survivors and family members of gun violence will never stop trying to make Oklahoma a safer place, but we need more voices.

Another way to have your voice heard is by wearing orange on June 2. City leaders across Oklahoma have agreed to issue proclamations in their communities to support and promote National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2 and Wear Orange Weekend on June 3-4.

Wear Orange is a nationwide event honoring survivors and victims of gun violence by turning landmarks, businesses and communities orange with lights, signs and clothing.

For more information on how you can participate, go to wearorange.org. Our family will wear orange in honor of our daughter, Dr. Stephanie Husen, Dr. Preston Phillips, Ms. Amanda Glenn and Mr. William Love and far too many others who have been victims of gun violence.

Greg and Joyce Husen are the parents of Dr. Stephanie Husen, a sports medicine physician who died in a mass shooting at Saint Francis on June 1 last year. They wrote this op-ed on behalf of her family.

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Opinion: What happened on June 1 last year is not just 'one incident' - Tulsa World