Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland shooting victim, talks about his anti-gun violence efforts
![Fred Guttenberg, seen speaking in White Plains in April 2023,...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3ANmJkM2VlMTktYzE0Yy00%3AMTktYzE0Yy00ODU2YjJj%2Fliguttenberg230519_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Fred Guttenberg, seen speaking in White Plains in April 2023, has become a prominent anti-gun violence activist since his daughter Jamie was killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018. Credit: Getty Images for Just Majority/Eugene Gologursky
Jaime Guttenberg would have been 20 years old in July.
But the energetic ninth grader, who loved to dance and play hockey, was gunned down along with 16 others in a massacre more than five years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
That two-decade mark has significant meaning for Fred Guttenberg, Jaime's father and a former East Northport resident, who has become a prominent anti-gun violence activist.
During those 20 years, Americans have roughly doubled their total number of firearms to about 400 million while boosting the sale of AR-15s from 2% of all guns sold to 25%, he said.
The skyrocketing ascent of gun possession and mass shootings — firearms are now the leading cause of death nationwide among children 18 and younger — is the source of Guttenberg's new book, "American Carnage," which was released earlier this month.
On Friday, Guttenberg, who lives in Florida, will return to New York for a public discussion at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital with Dr. Salvatore Pardo, its chair of emergency medicine.
In an interview Wednesday, Guttenberg said he remains optimistic that proposals to expand background checks on firearms purchases as well as a host of "red flag" laws across the country, aimed at confiscating weapons from people deemed potentially dangerous, will make a dent in reducing gun violence.
"I have three objectives," Guttenberg said. "One is to lower the gun violence death rate. The next is to reduce incidences of gun violence. And the third is reducing the severity of gun violence injuries when gun violence happens. Those are achievable and realistic goals."
Pardo, who has treated hundreds of gunshot wound patients since he began his career nearly 30 years ago, called gun violence a "public health initiative. And just like any kind of disease or any kind of source of morbidity and mortality … it's an important topic for us to address. And we think that it's preventable."
Guttenberg has a unique connection to Northwell. His brother, Michael, of Jericho, was an emergency room physician, medical director of Northwell’s Center for Emergency Medical Services and FDNY first responder. Michael Guttenberg died in 2017 from pancreatic cancer linked to his work at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Friday's discussion is the first of several events planned at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream to address gun violence awareness throughout the year, Pardo said.
This is a modal window.
Wind damage on LI ... Cold Spring Harbor cuts ... Empty space, hungry commuters at Grand Central ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
This is a modal window.
Wind damage on LI ... Cold Spring Harbor cuts ... Empty space, hungry commuters at Grand Central ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Most Popular
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3ANjYyZmI5NzMtZGYzZi00%3AODBiMDlhZmQtYzNiNS00%2Fnynypd250218_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DPreview%2B4%253A3%26w%3D125%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZTBhOTU3MDYtZjQxMC00%3AYzU3ODVjODEtYzUwNi00%2Flisocialsidebar240630_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DPreview%2B4%253A3%26w%3D125%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AMDE2ZjdmZDUtMmIwNy00%3ANjgwYzFlNDgtMzUyYi00%2Fetjoel250110_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DPreview%2B4%253A3%26w%3D125%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3ANzhlYzg4OGEtYjk4ZS00%3AYWMwNjVmNTgtMGJhMy00%2Fetsetz250216_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DPreview%2B4%253A3%26w%3D125%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AYzY0ZDAwNDgtYjdkOS00%3AODA4MjU4OWMtZmVhMy00%2Faptopix-toronto-delta-flight.jpeg%3Ff%3DPreview%2B4%253A3%26w%3D125%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)