Dr. Gerilyn Utter

I think they just have to surround themselves with people who love and support them.

They have to take it one breath, one second, one minute, one hour, one day at a time.

and they have to do what feels good for them.

So down the road, if they want to participate in a bereavement group of other parents who have lost their children, if they want to engage in psychotherapy separately, not necessarily together, mom and dad can do it separately and then together.

But again, I think the key message is we're in survival mode right now.

They just have to do what feels good for them.

And when I say good, I mean,

That just allows them to take the next breath that allows them to hydrate, get something to eat.

They just have to do whatever allows them to exist in this moment and to stay together as much as they can, because we can't we can't say or monetize or or figure out what's going to make them feel better.

We just have to be there for them and they have to serve themselves with people who love them.

I think to your point, Nancy, the fact when when folks come in together, that is something that tends to stick in gun owners name in their brains, because a lot of the times there's something called a straw purchase.

So when people are trying to come in and they have somebody with a clean record and they bring the person that's actually going to purchase the gun.

or that wants the gun, seeing people together usually raises a red flag because you're like, why are there two people here?

You're not somebody that may be equipped or trained or know what it is that you want or what you're buying.

And so sometimes you'll bring along someone else.

So I think that that is something that tends to stick in their minds just due to something called a straw purchase, an illegal gun purchase, specifically when you bring someone in that can't purchase the gun because they have a criminal record.

And the person standing before the shop owner is buying it with the intent of giving it to someone else.

So a lot of the times when you see partners or when you see two people together, that is something that does generally raise a red flag because they want to make sure who they're selling equipment or who they're selling a gun to is going to that individual and not perhaps the person that's accompanying that individual to the store.

So that's definitely something they are mindful of.

So a straw purchase is, so let's just say I have a criminal record, Nancy, and I have a felony record and I am not allowed to purchase a gun.