Manuel & Patricia Oliver on Losing Their Son to Gun Violence

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Clearly, as David said and you’ve said, you don’t want us to think of him as a victim, but what should we know about the boy himself.

PATRICIA OLIVER: Joaquin was a very strong kid. Joaquin — that’s why we said, “Joaquin, rest in power,” because that was him, he’s power, he’s strength, he’s determined. He’s very determined. So, he will be doing whatever is in his hands in order to keep these changes going on because he left it in posters, you can read it on Twitter, you can read it on essays that he did in — on school, he came — he posted it Instagram, so many social media that he used meanwhile he was here. So, we are just empowering him through his legacy that he left, and that’s the kind of kid that you can see. Your — his face that you see in that picture that is all over the world, you can see that kind of kid he was. He was an amazing, lovely and sweet kid.

AMANPOUR: And we are seeing pictures of him with you as well, both of you. And I just wonder, you know, we said the David and the activist, the March For Your Lives kids, have gone dark for the day and for the next few days. They just want to reflect by themselves. Does it help you today to talk about your son? I mean, is it something that you want to do?

MANUEL OLIVER: Well, today, the media — and this is a perfect example of what’s happening today, the media wants to hear us, they want to know what we need to say and we don’t want to waste that opportunity to send the right message. Not about how we feel but more about what we’re doing and what we’re planning to do. We are planning to solve this problem, not for Joaquin because it’s too late for that. We’re planning to solve this problem for David, for Emma and I’m for every single person that is, today, a possible victim of gun violence. So, today, February 14th, we are hear in front of a camera that is actually sending this message all around the word, it’s time for America to be judged. The other nations are going to point to us and they’re going to say, “Shame on you. You have not been able to solve that easy problem to solve. And the only reason is that some of your leaders are receiving money from a very powerful gun lobby and an organization called the NRA.” And we say, “No more to that.” That’s why we are here today talking to you. We are sad, very sad today, but we also have the attention of the media. We cannot waste one more minute. It’s hard to understand for anyone that lives in England or in any other nation that we could leave this is to do right now being shot by someone that legally purchase an assault weapon, well, that is actually what happens in here. 40,000 people will lose their lives every single year until we do something.