Breaking via CNN: At least 22 people shot, 2 fatally, after assailants fire what appear to be assault rifles at a club

John,

Two people are dead and countless lives forever changed after Miami-Dade county’s largest mass shooting in recent memory. This tragedy is not new for my state, or for my family. 

I have been pleading with our lawmakers for years to take action against this deadly epidemic of gun violence, because I know that more people will die if they don’t. Their action cannot bring my daughter back, but it can save so many other children and families from this tragedy.

I am a father of 2 children, Jesse and Jaime. Jesse is 20 now, but Jaime will be 14 forever – she was murdered alongside 13 other children and three of their teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. My son lives with the permanent scars of having heard his sister get shot.  

I live with the sound of that single shot severing my daughters spinal cord. I am a father who hopes his daughter died instantly, otherwise, that means she suffered. I am a father who is fighting to honor his daughter’s murder with action.

My daughter’s killer was armed with an assault weapon and large capacity magazines. These weapons of war are designed to kill as many people as possible as fast as possible, and that’s why they have become the weapon of choice for mass murderers. We can remove these deadly weapons from our streets, but only if Congress takes action.

That’s why I’m personally asking you today: Will you add your name and demand that Congress ban assault weapons NOW?

No other family should face the tragedy that mine has. I have dedicated my life to fighting gun violence in honor of Jaime and the other children who have been stolen from us too soon. I hope that you will join me in this fight, too, John.

Thank you.

Fred Guttenberg

Gun Violence Survivor

Jesse and Jaime's Dad