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John, my name is Fred Guttenberg.
On February 14, 2018, my beautiful 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was in school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a lone gunman with an AR-15 murdered her and 16 others. That’s the day my life changed forever. No matter how much time goes by, she is on my mind every second of every minute of every day.
I had never spoken out about gun violence before Jaime was murdered. I would never have guessed that gun violence could affect me and my family. But no one is safe from gun violence — and it hurts me to describe our country like that. So now, the work to end this violence — to spare other families this pain — has become my life’s purpose and mission.
I confronted Senator Marco Rubio for his cowardice before a packed audience in a live CNN town hall a week after my Jaime was murdered. He had announced his re-election campaign two years prior by pledging to do something after the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando. He did nothing — worse than nothing — he’s blocked efforts to stop gun violence time and time again.
I tried to shake Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s hand during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He couldn’t even muster the will to look at me. He had previously made his position as an antagonist to reducing gun violence clear, and he is now on the Supreme Court.
I have seen inside the belly of the beast — the right-wing, NRA-led effort to proliferate more gun sales. I have stared the evil of inaction in the face. And I am convinced that we need to elect Adam Schiff to the Senate to finally take action to stop gun violence.
President Biden has called legislation like Adam’s Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act the “one thing on my list — the Lord came down and said, ‘Joe, you get one of these’ — give me that one.”
Adam’s legislation would repeal the legal immunity shield that the gun industry enjoys — an immunity shield from civil suits that no other billion-dollar industry has — that the NRA carved out in a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) during the George Bush administration to protect their sales.
Families like ours in Parkland deserve our day in court to be able to hold the gun manufacturers who recklessly sold dangerous weapons to unfit buyers accountable — we need Adam in the Senate taking the fight to the NRA’s apologists and make this a reality.
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If we can flip just four seats in the House and re-elect our Democratic senators and President Biden, we WILL get gun safety legislation to President Biden’s desk. It’s possible. With your donation, we will make our effort to end gun violence as we know it a reality.
For families like mine, your support for a gun safety advocate like Adam helps me honor my Jaime’s life and memory. That means more than I could ever express.
Thank you,
Fred Guttenberg
Gun Violence Survivor
Jaime and Jesse’s Dad
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