When my daughter Jasmine and I said goodbye to each other, we always made sure to hug and say "I love you." That was the last thing we did before I made a short run to the store on October 13, 1999. When I came back, my 14-year-old daughter was gone.
Jasmine and her friend Chris had been kidnapped. Chris—despite being shot multiple times by their captors—miraculously survived. Jasmine did not; she was shot and killed, murdered in the most brutal way imaginable.
In the following weeks, we found out that the people who murdered Jasmine had purchased their gun without a background check at a gun show. They took advantage of the loopholes in federal law so they could purchase a firearm with no questions asked—a firearm which they then used to kill my daughter.
John, background check laws can save the lives of people like my daughter. By closing the loopholes in federal law, our U.S. senators can help make sure that violent criminals and other people with dangerous histories can't get their hands on firearms. They can prevent these tragedies before they happen.
Send your U.S. senators a message: Pass background check legislation now.
I was devastated by Jasmine's death. She was my second child to die; my daughter, Anna, had previously died of a brain tumor, also at the age of 14.
But as I was grieving Jasmine, I remembered something: She had been appalled by the Columbine shooting, which happened just a few months prior to her death. Thinking of Jasmine, I set out to do what I know she would have done: I began to fight for the kind of change that I knew could prevent these tragedies.
We have made a lot of progress as a movement in the 22 years since Jasmine was murdered. But a significant goal remains: Getting Congress to pass a major gun safety bill for the first time in over two decades.
John, too many people have died by gun violence since my daughter was killed. The U.S. Senate needs to put an end to this crisis and listen to the overwhelming majority of people in the United States who support background checks. We need action now.
Tell the U.S. Senate: Take action on background checks.
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Thank you for being a part of this movement, and thank you for taking action to honor the lives of people like my daughter.
Carol Gaxiola
Moms Demand Action
P.S. You can read my tribute to my daughter, Jasmine, on the Moments that Survive Website here. You can read other survivor stories or submit your own by visiting Moments that Survive.
