Originally published on Patch

By Justin Heinze

The mother of an 18-year-old woman shot and killed in a road rage incident in Chester County will attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday night as a statement on gun violence.

Michelle Roberson, mother of Bianca Roberson, will be the guest of newly elected U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA 6).

In announcing Roberson as her guest, Houlahan said that "we must do more" to reduce gun violence.

State legislation has already been introduced in the name of Bianca Roberson. The bill put forth by State Rep. Carolyn Commita last year would prohibit loaded firearms from being carried in vehicles in many cases (with a few notable exceptions).

Roberson, a 2017 graduate of West Chester Rustin High School, had planned to head to Jacksonville University for a four-year merit scholarship to study criminal justice. She was out driving on Route 100, just north of Route 202 in West Goshen in June of 2017 when then 29-year-old David Desper fired on her, killing her.

"That gun should not be further ready to use," Comitta said at the time. "We already know that the mere presence of a gun in a home increases suicide rates and the likelihood that an abuser shoots dead a domestic partner. In unstable situations, we must do what we can to prevent potential energy from turning into deadly kinetic energy – especially on roads. I and most gun safety proponents still protect Second Amendment rights and commonsense gun safety measures."

Desper pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 to 40 years behind bars.

Houlahan campaigned as a vocal advocate for gun control, and is already a cosponsor of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. The bill supports universal background checks on all firearms purchases.

President Trump will deliver the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. Tuesday.