The father of a student killed in the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre was slated to be Congressman Gerry Connolly’s guest tonight at President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

Peter Read of Annandale, Virginia, father of Virginia Tech shooting victim Mary Read, was to join other survivors and family members affected by gun violence in the House Gallery to view the speech. Read is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and a constituent in Virginia’s 11th CD, represented by Connolly. Six of the students killed in the Virginia Tech massacre, including the shooter, were residents of Connolly’s Northern Virginia congressional district. Connolly’s district is also home to the national headquarters of the National Rifle Association.