Gregory Jackson Jr., the Southern-region director for Organizing for Action — the post-election version of Obama for America — was caught in the crossfire of a violent argument outside Washington, D.C.'s Walter E. Washington Convention Center and shot in the calf on the early morning of April 21.
Ironically, the Huffington Post points out, one of Jackson's main professional responsibilities is to build support for legislation to prevent gun violence in the South — and he was shot only days after a bill that would have strengthened and expanded background checks for gun sales failed to pass in the Senate.
Jackson, who has had five surgeries and is slated for another, told HuffPost about one highlight of his recovery: a call from President Obama himself. "He gave me a call just to let me know that he was thinking about me," Jackson recalled. "And he just stated that he's pretty sad I had to learn firsthand how and why this fight is so important.
"This traumatic experience," Jackson said, "brought home how critical it is that our country's representatives take action to prevent these incidents from happening in the future."
Read more at the Huffington Post.