In May 2005, Tim Heyne and his wife were stopping by a friend's house when all three of them were shot by a gunman. Tim survived, but he lost his wife and his best friend in the incident. He has courageously turned his mourning into action, started up a new Million Mom March Chapter, and is quickly becoming a leader on this issue in California.

This issue's sensible gun law activist: Tim Heyne, our Ventura County (CA) Chapter President, with his wife, Jan, in a 2004 photo.

At the end of Memorial Day weekend, Tim and his wife Jan were stopping by their friend Steve's house to return a boat they'd borrowed. As the three were standing in the driveway, a man approached, pulled out a gun, and began firing indiscriminately - hitting all three of them.

Unfortunately, Tim had to watch as his wife died from her gunshots wounds in the driveway of Steve's house. His best friend, Steve, died on his way to the hospital. The killer was a man with a grudge against Steve. And since there was a restraining order against the shooter, he should not have had access to a gun.

Tim was shot three times in the abdomen; the bullets barely missed his heart and other vital organs. For Tim, surviving the tragedy physically was a miracle. After nine days in the hospital, he decided he had survived for a reason: to take care of his three children and to do what he could to make sure that other families do not have to suffer this enormous loss due to gun violence, as his did.

And Tim has been getting things done. He's launched a new Ventura County (California) Million Mom March Chapter. He began recruiting members among friends and through his church, and the Chapter is now about 30 members strong.

But the activism doesn't stop with Tim. The entire Heyne family has turned their loss into activism. All three of Tim and Jan's children share his concerns about senseless gun violence. Tim's youngest son, Christian, joined his dad at the Brady Campaign's Leadership Training Institute in Washington, D.C. in April.

Tim recently spoke at a press conference in Los Angeles alongside L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa and L.A. Councilman Jack Weiss, about the issue of illegal guns in the city. As Tim says, " if telling my story and doing what I can do will save one life out there, I'll keep going."

Tim is a Personal Manger of recording artists and has been active in local government as well as being involved with many local, regional, and national youth sports program.

For more information about the Million Mom March Chapters of the Brady Campaign, go to our website: www.millionmommarch.org. Or, if you are interested in starting your own Chapter, email us.