Late Thursday night in a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis, a gunman murdered eight people and injured seven others. It was the 147th mass shooting in America this year according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive.

Unlike this shooting, or those in Rock Hill, SC; Essex, MD; Boulder, CO; or Atlanta, GA, most mass shootings never make the national news. Nor do the shootings that take place on our streets and in our neighborhoods every day. But every single one results in lives cut-short or individuals permanently injured — and families forever changed by senseless acts of gun violence.

Sadly, the frequency of shootings in our country is no longer shocking.

What IS shocking is the capacity of so many members of Congress to repeatedly express their sorrow and outrage — while refusing to support common-sense measures to reduce gun violence.

We have the capacity to help prevent future loss of life and save other families from the tragedy of having their lives forever altered by gun violence. That’s why I am as committed as ever to passing common-sense gun safety legislation through Congress.

Democrats control the House, the Senate and the White House. Giving up now is not an option. If you are with me, sign my petition to demand Senate action on common-sense gun safety laws >>

As a member of the Maryland state legislature I led the successful fight against the gun lobby to pass the first-ever mandatory trigger-lock law in the country to prevent accidental shootings of children and others. With a strong, determined coalition we won that fight and we can do it again now.

Thank you for your commitment to making our country a better, safer place for all of us.

Chris