Why I Still Fight: My Story of Gun Violence Prevention
Some people ask me why I spend so much time on gun violence prevention advocacy when I could be focused entirely on running businesses. The answer is simple. This fight chose me before I was old enough to understand it.
My mother, Joyce, completed suicide with a gun when I was two years old. I didn’t witness it. I don’t have memories of her. What I have is a lifetime of growing up without her, of questions that will never be answered, and of understanding what it means to lose someone to gun violence before you even know what loss is.
That’s my why.
Growing Up With an Empty Chair
Every kid has moments when they need their mom. First day of school. Learning to ride a bike. Graduations. I had those moments too. The difference is that mine came with silence where a voice should have been.
I don’t share this for sympathy. I share it because gun violence isn’t just about the headlines. It’s not just mass shootings. It’s the quiet losses too. The suicides. The accidents. The everyday violence that never makes the news but still leaves families shattered.
In the United States, over 48,000 people die from gun violence every year. More than half of those deaths are suicides. My mother was one of those numbers decades ago, and the numbers have only gotten worse.
The Moment I Chose Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy
For years, I carried Joyce’s story quietly. I built businesses. I grew Penebaker Enterprises from $1.5 million to $12 million in commercial roofing and sheet metal fabrication. I scaled Roofed Right America to over $35 million in annual revenue across four Upper Midwest markets with 180 employees. I focused on what I could control.
But there comes a point when you realize that building a career isn’t enough. That you have a platform and a story that could help change things for other families. For me, that moment came when I looked at my own kids and realized I had a choice. I could keep my mother’s story private, or I could use it to fight for a world where fewer families go through what mine did.
I chose to fight.
What Gun Violence Prevention Looks Like in Practice
When most people hear “gun violence prevention,” they think of protests and political debates. And yes, policy matters. I’ve been involved in advocating for common-sense legislation that can save lives.
But advocacy is also about showing up. It’s about being willing to tell your story publicly, even when it’s uncomfortable. It’s about sitting in rooms with lawmakers and making the case that this isn’t a political issue. It’s a human one.
I’ve spoken at events, worked with organizations, and used whatever platform I have to push this conversation forward. Not because I enjoy talking about my mother’s death. Because I believe that if more people understood the full scope of gun violence, including suicide, we’d be closer to real solutions.
The Business Leader’s Role in Social Change
One thing I’ve learned from nearly 30 years in the construction industry is that leadership doesn’t stop at the office door. The same skills that help you build high-performing teams, the ability to listen, to communicate, to bring people together around a shared goal, those skills matter in advocacy too.
I bring my business mindset to this fight. Data matters. Strategy matters. Building coalitions matters. You don’t change policy by shouting. You change it by showing up consistently, making your case clearly, and building relationships with the people who have the power to act.
If you’re a business leader reading this, I’d challenge you to think about what cause matters to you. You have more influence than you realize. Your voice carries weight in your community. Use it.
Why I Won’t Stop
Some days this fight feels exhausting. Gun violence prevention advocacy isn’t a space where you see quick wins. Progress is slow. Setbacks are real. And the losses keep coming.
But every time I think about stepping back, I think about Joyce. I think about the two-year-old who grew up without his mom. I think about the families going through that same pain right now, today.
I can’t fix what happened to my family. But I can work to make sure fewer families have to go through it. That’s not a choice I have to make. It’s one I’ve already made.
How You Can Help
You don’t have to be a survivor of gun violence to make a difference. Here are three things you can do right now:
- Educate yourself. Understand that gun violence includes suicide, domestic violence, community violence, and mass shootings. The solutions are as varied as the problem.
- Have the conversation. Talk to your family, your neighbors, your elected officials. Normalize discussing gun safety the same way we discuss car safety or fire safety.
- Support organizations doing the work. Groups at the local and national level are fighting every day for common-sense policies. Your time, money, or voice can make a real difference.
If you want to learn more about my advocacy work, visit my Advocacy page. And if my story resonated with you, I’d appreciate you sharing it. The more people who understand the full picture of gun violence in America, the closer we get to real change.