Living for 32

Kevin Breslin, son of reporter/novelist Jimmy Breslin, builds his documentary Living for 32 around Colin Goddard, a Virginia Tech graduate who became a gun control advocate. Goddard was in his French class in 2007 when Seung-Hui Cho entered the room and began firing; Goddard was shot four times, but the international studies major would recover from his injuries—one of seven students in a class of 17 to survive, including his friend, Kristina Anderson, who recalls that they almost skipped school that morning to get breakfast. A total of 32 students died, not counting Cho, who took his own life. The experience galvanized Goddard, a former Army ROTC student, to become an activist. Here, he visits gun shows with a hidden camera to prove that many private sellers fail to check identification or conduct background checks in order to make quick sales. As Gerald Schembri, a retired New York police officer, tells Goddard, Cho obtained weapons intended for law enforcement. “I don't see any reason for a civilian to have it,” he says, referring to the shooter's semiautomatic handguns. Cho, who had a history of mental illness, also used the more lethal hollow-point bullets. As a participant in the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Goddard works towards passage of HR 2324 in an effort to close the gun show loophole (unfortunately, the bill would not end up in either chamber for a vote). Offering an inspiring and sobering look at the gun control issue, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)