Stop the killing - Gun control now

I am writing with desperation and raw emotion—gun violence is tearing at the fabric of our country. Today, in Evergreen, Colorado, three high school students lie critically wounded after yet another school shooting—where even young lives are no longer safe in the sanctity of the classroom. At nearly the same moment, the very idea of safety in civic spaces crumbled: Charlie Kirk, a public figure and speaker, was fatally shot during a college event in Utah—a political assassination that has sent shockwaves across our nation. Earlier this summer, in Minnesota, state House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home, and a state senator and his family were shot—targeted, politically motivated violence that no one should ever experience. We cannot bear one more catastrophic headline, one more life senselessly stripped away. The “thoughts and prayers” offered in the aftermath feel woefully inadequate—they’re no substitute for action. We need serious, non-negotiable gun control—now. I demand that you immediately support and champion legislation that includes: • Universal background checks for all gun sales and transfers, closing every loophole. • An assault weapons ban reinstated and reinforced. • Mandatory red-flag laws nationwide to allow temporary removal of firearms from those deemed dangerous. • Safe-storage laws to protect children and others from accidental or impulsive usage. • Funding for proven violence prevention and intervention programs. It’s not enough to mourn, to express grief, to hold vigils. It’s time to legislate—boldly, unequivocally. Please stand ready to deny funding or votes to any measure that fails to put common-sense, evidence-based gun safety reforms first. We deserve-to live in a nation where our children are not casualties, where public spaces do not become crime scenes, and where political expression isn’t met with a bullet. Honor the memory of the victims: make your actions count. Thank you for doing the right thing—and acting before one more tragedy claims another life.