There are two sides to every coin, friend, and that's as true this Women's History Month as it's ever been.

On one side, there is the unassailable truth that women have made incredible strides toward the promised land of equality and equal justice. Our history books are filled with women who didn't back down but still came up against some barriers that just wouldn't budge. Now, though, we've fought our way into a new era of women in leadership. We have a Black woman as vice president, and we know that, as she says, she may be the first, but she will not be the last. 

But there's still the other side of that coin, friend. We have a lot of work left to do. Eight people were murdered in Atlanta this month, six of them women of Asian descent. The last Congress reauthorized a modernized, updated Violence Against Women Act, we passed an expanded background checks bill – both measures that will help to keep weapons out of dangerous hands. But the GOP-controlled Senate blocked a vote to make both law, friend. The shooter was able to purchase a gun in just hours. 

Women's rights and lives are under threat. But we are never powerless. So right now, I need you to summon your power to effect change, and help me defend our Democratic, woman-led majority in the House. We are facing down the most extremist, anti-women Republican Party in modern history – and it is no exaggeration to say the advancement of women's rights hinges on protecting our majorities in Congress. Will you donate to make sure history lands on the right side of the coin?

For my entire career I've taken on a Republican Party bent on regulating women's bodies, rather than passing laws to protect them. Increasingly, a firearm is easier to access than basic reproductive care or economic opportunity. And I've seen it out of reach for far too many Black women and women of color. 

Friend, I am resolved to right those injustices. I am resolved to fight – always, always, always – for women's rights on every front. And I am resolved to help more women become anything they want to be.

We will pass the Violence Against Women Act, and we will make it law. We will seek justice for the women slain in Atlanta, and women everywhere whose lives are cut short or made smaller by institutionalized misogyny. And it will start in the House.

I can tell you this: House Democrats are fighting to make real progress for women. To keep it up, we've got to defend our majority. I'd so appreciate you stepping up and making a $5 donation – or whatever you can – to help House Democrats retain our majority and advance the rights of women. There's much work to be done but a donation from you today can power our fight like never before.

In solidarity, 

Congresswoman Val Demings