Tomorrow Needs You

BRANDON GUFFEY is a State Representative for District 48 in the South Carolina House of Representatives. After losing his son Gavin to sextortion-related suicide in 2022, Guffey championed and enacted Gavin's Law in 2023, making sextortion a criminal offense in South Carolina. A former York County Councilman and entrepreneur, he continues to advocate for teen mental health and online safety through legislative action and public outreach.

About the Author xi
Introduction xiii

1 Foundation 1
Father Figures and Role Models 4
Finding My Way 10
Love and Family 12
Career and Entrepreneurship 14
The Political Stage 15

2 "G-Goop" 17
G's Beginning 17
Early Days 21
The Spark of Creativity 23
Growing Up, Finding His Way 28
Stepping into Manhood 30

3 The Night Everything Changed 39
Like Any Other Night 39
Uneasy Silence 42
Shattering Instant 44
Final Hours 48

4 Where Was God? 51
So Much Anger 56
Traces 57

5 Create Motion to Change Emotion 61
My Son Through His Friends' Eyes 62
Connecting with Other Parents 65
"My Son Just Shot Himself. What Do I Do?" 66
Tomorrow Needs You 67
Hate Will Lose 69
Gavin's Burial 72
Guffey Men 74

6 Crying in the Corner 77
My Demons 78
Coping Together 81
A Mother's Grief 82
Finding My "Fight" 83

7 Don't Anticipate, Participate 85
Putting On My Oxygen Mask 87
Justice for Gavin, Protection for All Kids 89
Gavin's Law 93

8 The Porch Caucus 97
Finding the Right People 99
Venting On the Porch 101
Coming in Hot 102
Carrying It Together 107

9 Wheeling on the Rock 113
Wheels in Motion 114
The "Struggle Bus" 117
Preparing for the Future 120
"We Got Him" 122
More Movement, More Questions 123

10 Sextortion 125
Questions That Kept Me Awake 126
A Pattern Becomes a System 128
The Ecosystem of Exploitation 131
Running On Fumes 134

11 Ball in the Box 137
No Shortcuts 138
Trauma Is Physical 141
Navigating 143

12 David and Goliath 147
Fighting On 148
Building a Case 148
Taking On Big Tech 152
Protecting Kids with (and from) Tech 153

13 Don't Talk About It, Be About It 159
Meeting Senator Graham 161
Speaking My Truth 164
Advocating Beyond the Hearing 165
A Law Signed in the Rose Garden 171

14 Handcuffs 175
Carrying Justice 176
Waiting as Suffering 178
High-Stakes Justice 180
Justice as a Presence 185

Acknowledgments 189
Afterword: The Fight Continues 191
Index 203