WASHINGTON–Maryland mother Giselle Mörch, 65, lost her only son to a gunshot wound during a robbery in 2017.
Jaycee Webster was only 20 years old when he was shot in his home in Prince George’s County. His sister, grandfather, aunt and 3-year-old niece were all in the house when he took the fatal bullet to the chest.
Since then, Mörch has been advocating for gun control.
“Jaycee would always say: ‘I may not change the world, but I want to inspire many,’” Mörch said. “All of these people here and myself, we’re going to do the change, we’re going to make it happen.”
Tuesday morning, during National Youth Violence Prevention Week, Mörch joined members of two gun control advocacy organizations, March for Our Lives and Change the Ref, in front of the Capitol. The organizations sponsored a creative magazine called ‘30 Under 30,’ named after the famous Forbes entrepreneurial headline. The magazine is meant to raise awareness for 30 victims of gun violence who died before the age of 30 – including Jaycee Webster.
Attendees urged lawmakers to pass gun safety reforms, including safe storage laws, universal background checks and assault weapon bans.
“We’re all sick of their s— and we’re coming at them,” Rania Batrice, board chair of Change the Ref, told Capital News Service. “We’re done, done with the excuses … done with just platitudes and flowery language and no action.”
Batrice travelled from her home state of Texas to confront lawmakers on Capitol Hill about their stances on gun control.
“How is it that we have more mass shootings than days of the year in this country?” she asked.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death in people ages one through 19, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The magazine plastered the words “Gun violence is the No.1 killer of children in America” in bold white text against a blue “March for Our Lives” background. On the next page was a dedication to Webster.
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In 2025, an average of 3.4 children were killed by gun violence in the U.S. daily, according to the magazine.
During the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida, 17 people were killed, 14 of whom were students. Jackie Corin, co-founder of March for Our Lives, survived the mass shooting and appeared on Capitol Hill Tuesday with the rest of the organizers.
“Before then, I was just a normal teenager growing up in South Florida, in a very safe hometown,” Corin, 17 at the time of the shooting, told CNS. “It was just another day, but the fire alarm rang, and then suddenly we were hiding in the corner of our classroom. And three hours passed, and we learned that many of our classmates and friends were killed.”
Corin said federal lawmakers have been “irresponsible” and “negligent” when it comes to passing gun control and safety legislation. She explained that she has travelled to D.C. multiple times to advocate for gun control, but said this time felt different.
“We are coming to elected officials with stories, with heart, to really display not only the lives lost, but those who lived,” she said, gesturing to the magazine displays.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., spoke at the Tuesday press conference alongside organizers and families. “It’s more than just statements and tweets and posts and tears. There are actual, tangible things we can do to save lives,” he said to the crowd of cameras.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a statement to CNS Tuesday, “There are common-sense steps with widespread support that we can take to end this deadly cycle – from universal background checks, to a national handgun licensing system, to better equipping the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] to crack down on illegal gun trafficking.”
Corin has been advocating for change for eight years. She told CNS she has hope that ‘30 Under 30’ will spark federal action.
The magazine concluded with a statement on the back cover: “When we start protecting our children over our guns, we will no longer need this ‘30 Under 30’.”
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