Emma Burkey- He's made crosses for more than 25,000 victims since Columbine. The five he just made were the toughest.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/us/vigil-crosses-aurora-greg-zanis-trnd/index.html

This article tells the story of Greg Zanis, a resident of Aurora, Illinois who has been making crosses for the victims of mass shootings since Columbine. He spends about an hour on each wooden cross and then drives his truck to hand deliver them to each sight of the shootings. He says that he wants to try to help the families of the victims comprehend the disasters that have occurred over the years. This time, however, Greg didn't get to have that drive and delivery to strangers; he had to do it in his hometown. He never thought he would have to do make crosses for victims only 3 miles away, making this the hardest group of crosses to make yet.

This man is truly inspiring and a definite unsung hero of these tragedies. His life is devoted to making crosses and delivering them; the fact that he steps in to help while others turn their backs, not wanting to dwell on sadness, is impressive and gives me hope. What doesn't give me hope is the fact that he has made over 25,000 crosses since the Columbine shooting in 1999. That is are more than 25,000 lives that were snuffed out due to the lack of gun laws, security and proper background checks. One can only hope that the story of this man and the number of crosses he has made produces action of some kind for the laws that we need. This can relate to all shootings of the two decades and how Zanis has been a part of them. The Aurora shooting took place a day after the first year anniversary of the Parkland shooting showing the nothing has changed. How many more crosses will Zanis have to make until it does?