I hope I do justice in this post to my friends, family, and community in Las Vegas. October 1 means more to me than it might have if I hadn’t lived there. On this day in 2017, at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, lives were shattered when a gunman fired more than 1,000 rounds from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. In ten minutes, 60 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
What I remember most is how Las Vegas responded. People lined up for hours to donate blood. Strangers gave rides from the Strip to safety, to hospitals, to anywhere someone needed to go. In the middle of horror, the heart of Las Vegas shone bright—people taking care of their own, but also the out of towner's that were there. The people of Vegas held memorials and tributes for all the victims. Even now when you walk through Mandalay Bay you feel this sadness among the glitter and lights. I believe you always will.
Tonight like every year, That spirit of care lives on at the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden Built as a sanctuary after the tragedy, it includes a wall of remembrance, 58 trees for the victims, and a large oak “tree of life.” Every year, an evening ceremony is held there at 10:05 p.m.—the exact moment the shooting began. A bell tolls, and a candle is lit for each life lost. It is a sacred place of reflection, grief, and love. But, this year more than normal I feel like a true tribute cannot be the end of this story. Since that night, we continue to hear of more mass shootings. More lives cut short. More families broken. Haven’t we lost enough American lives? When will it end?
The truth is, it won’t end until we confront why these tragedies keep happening. Why is it still so easy to stockpile rifles, ammunition, and accessories like bump stocks that turn semi-automatic weapons into near machine guns? Why are common-sense reforms—background checks, safe storage, limits on high-capacity magazines—so hard to pass? One answer: the power of the gun lobby, especially the NRA.
The NRA has fought tooth and nail against reform for decades, even as communities bury their dead. They profit from fear—donations spike after shootings. They spread myths, blaming mental health alone or painting “gun-free zones” as the problem. Meanwhile, data shows that states with stronger gun laws consistently have fewer gun deaths, while those with weaker laws suffer more. And the U.S. stands as a global outlier: no other developed nation loses so many lives to gun violence.
So today, I write in honor of those lost, in solidarity with survivors, and in memory of the community I will always love. But I also write with urgency and conviction: We must do more than mourn. We must act. For all my love for Vegas, that allowed me to make Vegas home.
On October 1, I remember. I honor. And I demand that one day, “enough” will finally mean enough.
