Friend -

I wanted to send you a quick note this National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and highlight some often messy facts:

Gun violence is the #1 killer of American children. Think about that. In 2022, over 6,000 children 18 and younger were killed or injured due to gun violence in communities, schools, accidents, and suicides. Of the top 30 ways children die in America, gun violence is number 30 in terms of research dollars on prevention, behind less widespread killers like sepsis.

But here’s some bright news: things can and are changing. After the shootings at Oxford High School and MSU, I felt the ground shifting on this issue. I received from Republican constituents and leaders that I know to be avid hunters and sportsmen. They are fed up and angry and they just want something done. While they will defend their rights as responsible gun owners, they desperately want their children and grandchildren protected in schools.

After a lot of hard work, last November Michigan elected the first Democratic majority in over four decades — and now we’re tackling this issue head on. In the past few months we’ve passed legislation implementing background checks, safe storage requirements, and red flag laws.

And change was spurred on by getting to people’s hearts, largely through threats to their kids. Hopefully, Michigan can be a blueprint for other legislatures across the country. And I won’t stop pushing for reform at the federal level. While it’s a terrible statement, at some point, so many of us will be personally impacted by gun violence that we will be forced to change at the federal level. I plan to be a part of that change when I get to the Senate.

CONTRIBUTE

Elissa