Not One More.

I finally lost it on my run today, just as I ran past my child’s school. Up until then, I had been angry and frankly, numb. It just had not hit me yet that TEN years after the Sandy Hook massacre that we had another school massacre. How could we let this happen AGAIN?! So many of you have asked how you can help decrease gun violence in America. Here is what I have to say…

From Buffalo to Uvalde, we are witnessing the violent, dystopian world that the gun lobby has created and our lawmakers have enabled. We hear the same thoughts and prayers over and over again, but it doesn’t save lives and it doesn’t change laws. Ultimately, it all leads to the same thing: lives lost at the hands of preventable gun violence. We deserve to feel safe dropping our kids off at school, going to the grocery store, walking down the street, attending a concert, going about our lives. The Senate must take action.

Thoughts are prayers are not bulletproof. It is time to honor with action.

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. This is a crisis unique to the United States. Parents across the developed world kiss their kids goodbye as they head off to school and don’t have to give it a second thought, because no other country has been held hostage by a gun industry that is getting rich off the deaths of our children. In the U.S., we have nearly 400 million guns flooding our streets, homes, and schools – and gun violence can strike anywhere any time.

Peer-reviewed research shows that when states weaken their permitting systems, violent crime rates rise by 13-15%, handgun homicide rates increase 11%, and firearm homicides increase by 7% in urban counties.

And Americans ages 18 to 20 commit 18% of all gun homicides, while making up only 4% of the US population.

Let those numbers sink in. We have to fix this. We owe it to our children and to all Americans.

The Senate has failed to do their jobs for decades. What will finally convince them to act? How many more children have to die, how many more mothers, fathers, teachers, churchgoers, lives must be taken for our leaders to do something? Any senator who remains hostage to the gun lobby, who blocks life-saving change, is choosing carnage and gun industry profits over the precious lives of our children.

We are only as safe as the states with the weakest gun laws.

So, as many of you have asked me, what can we do?

1. This fall’s election may very well be the most important one of our lifetimes. We need to flip some seats from people who vote to do NOTHING on gun violence (typically Republicans) to people who actually want to solve this epidemic (typically Democrats). Start donating time and money to them. Right now. Yes, now. Today. You can donate money, make calls for them, knock doors for them and/or do data entry for them. If we get a “gun sense” majority (a majority of elected officials who will vote the way we need them to), we can FINALLY start saving lives. We need to VOTE OUT folks who will not curb gun violence and VOTE IN folks who will! That takes our time volunteering and/or money to help them get the word out. If you need help choosing who to support, please contact me personally. Simply comment on this blog and I will be more than happy to assist!
2. To those of you new to this fight, start donating time and money to a gun violence prevention organization. I’m partial to Moms Demand Action because they are the largest and most powerful. To get involved with Moms, text the word READY to 64433. You will be asked to share your zip code and then you will get invitations to the events closest to you. Moms Demand Action was founded by a mom and is open to ANY American, including responsible gun owners who are sick of gun violence in America. (If Brady or Giffords or Sandy Hook Promise speak to you more, by all means, please go help them. If you are a student, definitely check out Students Demand Action or March For Our Lives.)
3. To those of you NOT new to this fight, PLEASE take mental health breaks as needed. We need you in this for the long run.
4. If you are a student, you can participate in a national walkout tomorrow, May 26th at Noon Eastern / 9am Pacific. Visit www.StudentsDemandAction.org for complete information.
5. Lock up all guns in your home. If you need a free gun lock, go to your city’s police station. If they do not have any, go to your county sheriff’s office. If they do not have any, buy one on Amazon. They are around 10 bucks. For complete information on gun safety, please visit www.BeSMARTforKids.org. Also please check out https://everytownresearch.org/solution/responsible-gun-storage/.
6. Do NOT be swayed by calls for more metal detectors, more police, more armed guards, or more active shooter drills that do little more than terrorize kids and staff. Read up on what the best, data-driven, peer-reviewed solutions are, and don’t let misinformation go unchecked.
7. Do not judge how others grieve. Meet them where they are.
8. Do have the difficult conversations with family and friends who think nothing can be done. We can decrease gun violence and we have made some incremental change. It is truly a very slow process and tragically people are dying in the meantime. Check out https://momsdemandaction.org/about/victories/ for a little hope. You can see all the good bills volunteers have had a hand in passing and all the bad bills they have had a hand in defeating!
9. Lastly, educate yourself on solutions. Here is a short list of solutions that will keep our kids safe:
   ● Background checks: Nobody should be allowed to purchase a gun without a background check. Period.
   ● Red flags: Every community needs to have a Red Flag law that gives them a tool to temporarily remove guns (from two weeks to one year) from someone who has shown clear warning signs that they pose a danger to themselves or others. (This is what Florida needed to prevent the Parkland tragedy. Now Florida has a Red Flag law. Yes, VERY Republican Florida. If they can do it, so can all other states!)
   ● A Leader for ATF: The agency that enforces our gun laws and proactively shuts off the pipeline of illegal guns has been kneecapped for 20 years and the Senate needs to give it the resources it needs and confirm Steve Dettelbach as Director so it can do its job.
   ● Regulate Assault Weapons: We need to take a long, hard look at how assault weapons are made, marketed and sold to keep these weapons of war off of our streets and out of the hands of violent extremists.
   ● Raise the age to purchase a gun: The law already prevents anyone under 21 from buying a handgun from a gun dealer but teenagers and reckless youth have no business owning an assault weapon and we should raise the age to purchase these weapons across the country.
   ● Repeal PLCAA: The gun industry has had a get out of jail free card for too long. It’s time for the gun industry to face the same kind of accountability as every other manufacturer of consumer products for its role in the gun violence crisis – and lose its special protection.

Have any follow up questions? Reach out. And hug your loved ones tonight.