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Dear John

Amid the sorrow over the loss of all those lives in El Paso and Ohio last weekend, there is also justifiable outrage. But we’ve been through this so many terrible times before—and so broken are our politics on the matter of gun rights and public safety that nothing gets accomplished, even though there are sensible measures supported by large majorities of the American people.

It is possible, however, that this time will be some sort of tipping point.

And why might that happen now? After all, in the United States this year we've averaged more than four mass shootings a month. For a variety of political reasons, the United States is unique among advanced societies in this epidemic of killings. And the research shows that what makes us different is how awash the U.S. is in weapons built to kill many people in a short time, and how our political system is paralyzed from acting to deal with our epidemic of gun-related violence.

What might allow these recent killings to move us beyond the "thoughts and prayers" stage -- meaning, do nothing, while expressing phony compassion for all the people whose lives are being shattered -- is that this is clearly connected with the larger political crisis we are now facing as a nation: a President who is running roughshod over our nation's political order in a whole variety of ways, and whose presidency is manifestly moving toward some sort of show-down, as a majority of the majority party in the House of Representatives now favors an impeachment inquiry.

More specifically, the El Paso shooting – in which the shooter’s manifesto uses language directly pulled from the President’s speeches – occurs at a particular moment when this President had been ramping up the naked efforts to foment racial hatred and rage in his followers. At the very time that attention has been focused on that President putting hate at the core of his re-election strategy, Americans have had to witness the bloody implication of such demagoguery—22 innocent people slaughtered in El Paso.

(The confluence of this true “American carnage” with this presidential leadership based on hate and fear has led to the re-surfacing of relevant facts—facts such as that in those counties where Donald Trump held rallies in 2016, hate crimes increased in frequency by over 200%. And it is reminding us that the shooter of the people in the Pittsburgh synagogue and the man who was just sentenced for sending pipe-bombs through the mail both saw themselves as serving Donald Trump's agenda.)

So, we Americans must now face freshly these two things that have come together: the obvious need to enact sensible gun laws; combined now with the need to repudiate the kind of leadership that divides us Americans against each other instead of bringing us together.

With respect to our continued failure to enact sensible gun laws, my opponent -- Mark Obenshain -- has continually stood in the way, helping to kill every useful measure in the Virginia State Senate. (He helped cut short the special session of the General Assembly, rather than pass even measures supported by the majority of Virginians.)

With respect to this President whose fomenting of hatred and inspiring of violence is clearly part of this problem, and whose assault on the rule of law has created yet another national crisis, Mr. Obenshain remains silent. As the old Latin saying has it, “He who is silent, consents.”

All of which gives the citizens of this district (SD-26) a genuine choice when they go to the polls on November 5.

If they want the NRA to continue to dictate our gun laws, they can continue their habit of sending Mr. Obenshain to the Virginia State Senate.

But if they want gun laws that, while respecting the Second Amendment, also protect the rights of all of us to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," they can vote for me, April Moore.

If the citizens of this district want to continue to be represented by someone who puts political ambition and partisan affiliation ahead of the oath to protect the Constitution, they can vote for my opponent.

But if they want to be represented by someone dedicated to preserving our democracy, and certain to honor her oath of office, they can vote for me, April Moore.

And please help me succeed by making a donation to my campaign. Thank you!

Sincerely,

April

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April Moore for Virginia Senate . 86 Sunset Ridge Ln . Broadway, VA 22815-5013 . USA

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