1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Yesterday, our nation celebrated Independence Day. Yet, while families gathered, our holiday was once again marred by a wave of gun violence across the country. Data consistently shows that the July 4th holiday weekend is historically the deadliest of the year for mass shootings in the United States. This is a uniquely American crisis. Other developed nations do not live with this constant threat, and it is time to acknowledge that "thoughts and prayers" are not saving lives. Action is required. I am writing to urge you to cast aside partisan gridlock and focus on high-consensus, evidence-based solutions that protect public safety while strictly respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must find common ground on the following critical measures: - Universal Background Checks: Close existing gaps by requiring background checks for all gun sales, including private transfers and online sales. This simple step ensures that individuals who are already legally prohibited from owning firearms cannot easily bypass the system, while leaving law-abiding citizens unhindered. - Strengthening "Red Flag" (Extreme Risk) Laws: Support and fully fund state-level Extreme Risk Protection Orders. These laws allow courts—with strict due process—to temporarily remove firearms from individuals whom family members or law enforcement show are an immediate danger to themselves or others, providing a crucial intervention window. - Addressing the Roots of Violence via Mental Health Infrastructure: Gun violence is a complex issue, and we must aggressively address the underlying mental health and behavioral crises contributing to it. This means significantly increasing funding for community mental health centers, expanding mobile crisis response teams, and ensuring robust mental health resources are accessible in our schools and underserved neighborhoods. We cannot continue to accept this level of violence as an unchangeable reality of American life. I urge you to look at the empirical data, prioritize human lives, and work across the aisle to enact these reasonable, life-saving measures.