Signatures Are Flowing On A Petition For Oregon Shooting Hero Chris Mintz To Receive The Medal Of Freedom

After last week’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, a hero rose above the gunfire. CNN may have focused its voyeurism upon the shooter, but army veteran Chris Mintz became the name that truly mattered in the tragedy that killed 10 people and wounded many others. Mintz sustained several gunshot wounds and will have to relearn to walk, yet he saved countless lives.

The Internet will not forget Mintz’s heroism. Thousands of people have signed a petition to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a U.S. civilian:

“I am recommending Mr. Chris Mintz for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions taken on 1 October 2015 during the shootings at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Mr. Mintz, a Veteran, continues to display the values of the United States military by his actions to alert others of the danger and then to endanger himself while delaying the attacker to allow time for others to escape. Mr. Mintz positively displayed the values of loyalty, duty, respect, honor, integrity, personal courage, and self-sacrifice to attempt to save as many of his fellow citizens as possible. I believe that awarding Mr. Mintz the Presidential Medal of Freedom will hold him up as a strong example to the rest of America that one person can make a difference.”

Over an otherwise slow Internet weekend, the petition quietly gathered nearly 6,000 signatures. The total number needed for Mintz to receive the medal is 100,000, but the effort is hard at work on Facebook. Hopefully the petition will ultimately be successful before its expiration date of November 1. No doubt, President Obama would feel it proper for Mintz to receive this highest of honors.

(Via whitehouse.gov)

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