In the first scenes of the documentary Living for 32, Colin Goddard walks across the second floor of Norris Hall on the Virginia Tech campus. “It’s weird to come back here,” he says, as this was the same place where he survived four gunshots and witnessed his classmates and professor die during the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

On Wednesday, Goddard spoke at NYU’s Skirball Center and presented the documentary, in which he recounts the events of April 16, 2007, and narrates the way the events changed his life. Director Kevin Breslin and producer Maria Cuomo Cole also spoke, while their celebrity family members— former Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin and 20/20 anchorman Chris Cuomo, respectively—listened in the audience.

The film takes its name from Goddard’s new mantra— “We live for the 32 murdered on April 16th, 2007, at Virginia Tech and for the 32 people who are murdered with guns every day in America”— and showcases his rise as an advocate of tougher gun law enforcement. It also shows Goddard’s healing process after the tragedy, which brought together the entire campus as well as other universities that paid tribute to the fallen V-Tech Hokies.  “Having that community was so important,” said Goddard.

Another important part of the healing process involved doing normal things such as playing Halo and Call of Duty on an XBox console he got as a gift. “People asked me, ‘How can you play those games after what happened?’” said Goddard, to which he responded: ”I’m not running through a school; I’m killing Nazis!”

These types of games, as well as media depictions of violence on basic cable shows, were a source of concern for audience members, but not so much for the members of the panel. “The biggest problem is the easy accessibility of guns,” said Paul Hemkle, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the evening’s moderator. Living for 32 addresses this problem extensively by exposing how easily people can buy weapons at gun shows without having any proper documentation — or even ID’s.

The battle that people like Goddard and Hemkle are fighting against the gun industry is based not only on how to better control the traffic of guns but also on whether civilians should be allowed to carry them in public. Breslin, the film’s director, places great hope on his level-headed spokesman Goddard, whom he described as intelligent and far from a left-wing enthusiast with an axe to grind. “It’s through your honesty and simplicity that you can get your message out there more than with a mantra of gun control,” he told Goddard.

Goddard’s also a firsthand victim, which makes him a living reminder of the consequences of lax gun control.  “It’s imperative to put a human voice to this story,” said Cuomo Cole, sister of New York governor-elect Andrew Cuomo and the film’s producer. “Colin’s story will really resonate across the country.”