This is the infuriating reality of gun violence, John: Nearly ninety percent of the guns found at crime scenes in New York City were originally bought out of state and brought to the city illegally.

The numbers are also high in places like Chicago and Boston—states with weak gun laws often supply firearms to criminals in states with stronger gun laws.

Nearly 60,000 guns are trafficked across state lines every year—yet gun trafficking is STILL not a federal crime.

This is not a Republican or Democratic issue – it is a human issue with a commonsense solution: By cracking down on illegal gun trafficking, we can stop the flow of illegal guns and save innocent lives.

This week, I stood in Brooklyn to call on Congress to pass the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act, which would make gun trafficking a federal crime and provide tools to law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets and away from criminal networks and street gangs.

But I need you with me: Will you add your name now and tell Congress to crack down on the flow of illegal gun trafficking?

I am not willing to throw my hands in the air and say nothing can be done. Not when the daily toll of gun violence is devastating families across New York and the country. Not when there is such clear and reasonable action we can take to start curbing gun violence.

The absence of any federal law defining gun trafficking as a crime in this country is shocking—but we can act now to change that.

Please, add your name now and support the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act to save lives from senseless gun violence.

Thank you for lending your voice to this urgent cause today. I’ll keep you updated on the conversation in Washington.

– Kirsten

P.S. I have been working on this legislation for almost a decade now—but the last time it received a vote on the Senate floor was in 2013. This year—with a Democratic Senate and House—we have a real chance to pass this legislation. Thank you for standing with me in this effort.