Tour against gun violence stops at Tucson's Jan. 8 memorial

Tucson’s Jan. 8 memorial was a stop Sunday for a bus carrying family affected by mass shooting violence.

Patricia and Manuel Oliver founded the “Change the Ref” tour to honor their son who was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at MSD High School in Parkland, Florida.

The tour is stopping at various cities that, like Tucson, have been the site of a mass shooting. During the stops, the couple and others advocate for stronger laws amid what they call an epidemic of gun violence.

“They are celebrating his life and also bringing to all of our attention the terrible condition we find ourselves in where day after day, week after week, mass shootings occur. And our lawmakers don’t do anything about it,” said former congressman Ron Barber, who hosted the event.

Barber was one of 19 people wounded in the Jan. 8, 2011 mass shooting in Tucson. Six people were killed during an event hosted by then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was among those wounded outside a northwest side grocery store.

Joaquin Oliver, affectionately known as “Guac,” would have turned 23 on Aug. 4 this year.

Starting in Parkland, the Olivers and others whose lives have been touched by gun violence are riding in a retrofitted school bus on a 23-city tour across the country.

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The Tucson stop kicked off at 10 a.m. at the downtown memorial.

It featured local speakers, like Barber and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover.

Conover acknowledged a rise in gun violence and homicide cases her office has handled over the last two years. She asked attendees to be aware of gun violence and how political candidates speak about the issue.

“We are working this summer to try to bring back the red-flag legislation that did pass through the Arizona Senate and then stalled in the House,” Conover said. “It’s one of the most sensible of all of the suggested reforms, because due process is really packed in.”

The bus tour was set to continue on to Columbine and Sandy Hook before the end of the summer. It had already stopped at Uvalde and El Paso, Texas.