We remember

Six years ago, a gunman walked into the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and senselessly took the lives of 17 people. Among them were students, just starting to make their way in the world, and the teachers and staff who were guiding them along the path.

I remember the deep sense of grief that was felt across the country in the following weeks. I stood with millions of my fellow Americans to call for common sense gun safety legislation and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. But, nothing happened.

Time and time again it seems as though these calls fall upon deaf ears, and time and time again, we've seen more tragedy occur. Just this week, 22 people were shot at the Kansas City Chiefs' championship parade. What was supposed to be a moment of celebration, turned into yet another moment of tragedy.

Overwhelming majorities of Americans support measures like universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons on our streets. So why doesn't Congress act?

It's not a problem of support, it's who Congress is listening to.

So far this year, there have been 46 mass shootings and 4,890 gun violence deaths in America. For me, even one life lost is too many, but the gun lobby seems to disagree. Even in the face of such senseless violence, special interest groups like the NRA and gun manufacturers have spent millions to secure staunch allies in the Republican party and stop even the most basic of reforms.

As a country, we cannot continue to allow this to happen. We can't change the past, but we certainly can change the future.

The only way we are going to get real action on this issue is to break the stranglehold that the gun lobby has on our elected officials. That means getting big money out of politics and making sure that the people's voices are the loudest in the halls of our Capitol.

The only way out is through. I have hope that the strength of our movement will guide us towards a brighter future.

Yours in the fight,

Jim