On September 28, 2024, my heart broke in a way I never thought possible. Tyler Taffe, a beautiful 12-year-old boy who had been a part of our lives since he was just five, lost his life to a firearm in his mother’s home. This wasn’t just any child, this was Tyler, our Tyler. I loved him as if he were one of my own grandchildren. He brought such light to our family with his mischievous grin, playful energy, and unshakable spirit. My daughter treated him like her own son, and my grandsons, one of their closest friends, now faces the unimaginable heartache of growing up without him.
It’s impossible to capture what Tyler meant to us. This summer, we watched him face his fear of lighting a firecracker, his hands trembling before finally tossing it with a burst of pride. We laughed and cheered, so full of joy at that moment. Never could we have imagined that just months later, we’d be grieving his loss, trying to understand how a child so full of life could be taken by something so preventable.
Losing Tyler has shattered me in ways words can’t fully convey, but it has also reignited my commitment to preventing this from happening to another family. The painful truth is that firearms are now the leading cause of death for children under 19 in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more children and teens die from gun violence than from any other cause, surpassing even car accidents. This isn’t just statistics, it’s a call to action. We are losing our children to gun violence at an alarming rate. Tyler’s name is now part of this heartbreaking reality, and his family and mine will never be the same.
I’ve dedicated years to advocating for safer schools and communities through my work with the PTA and Moms Demand Action. Now, is an urgent need for change. That’s why I appreciate and stand behind the Blueprint for Change: National PTA and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund’s Comprehensive Guide for Parents on Gun Violence Prevention. This guide isn’t just about policy, it’s about protecting our babies, ensuring they can grow up safe, free from the threat of gun violence.
It’s about empowering our parents and guardians with the knowledge and tools they need to advocate for safer laws, having critical conversations about gun safety, and demanding that guns be stored safely away from the reach of curious hands.
As the immediate past national PTA president and a mother, grandmother, and advocate who loved Tyler like my own, I am asking families, educators, and communities to come together in this fight. This isn’t someone else’s problem, it’s ours. We owe it to our children to do everything in our power to protect them.
Tyler’s life was precious. He deserved to grow up, to face his fears, to live his dreams. No family should have to live through the pain of losing a child this way. In his memory, and in the memory of every child and young person lost to gun violence, let’s rise. Let’s make sure our children are safe, that they are cherished, that their futures are not cut short by preventable tragedy.
We have the power to change this. Let’s do it for Tyler. Let’s do it for all of them.
