Friend, on Feb. 14, 2018, I got a text from one of my daughters that said "shooting at school" – and since that day, my family has never been the same.

I had two daughters at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a shooter opened fire that day in February. Between the two of them, they knew every single person who was murdered. My daughters attended 11 funerals before they graduated from high school.

Because of what happened that day, I've dedicated myself to working with Ban Assault Weapons NOW to prevent the next mass shooting so no teenager, family or community has to endure this trauma. In honor of the 17 lives we lost to an assault weapon in Parkland, please donate $5 today to help us save lives.

Over the past three years, I've grieved for my kids' childhoods, our community and our country. How do our country's leaders think it’s okay to do nothing in the face of mass violence? It’s overwhelming to see kids shot and murdered while the government fails to take significant action.

I was shocked by the scope of the tragedy in Parkland but not shocked that it happened. While the probability of a mass shooting impacting my family was low, I knew all of the pieces were in place in America for this to happen – and continued inaction and stonewalling from NRA-backed politicians means another mass shooting could still happen today. 

The truth is, inaction breeds disaster. The only way to stop this is to prevent people from having weapons of war. If the NRA continues to halt all sensible gun reform, tragedy will strike again – whether it's this fall at a school like ours, in a grocery store like King Soopers, in Boulder, or at a nightclub like Pulse, in Orlando. 

It's going to take a massive wave of grassroots activism to overcome the NRA, ban assault weapons and prevent the next mass shooting – but we can do it if we work together. So, please, friend, help BAWN prevent another community like mine from being scarred forever.

Will you give $5 or more right now to help BAWN reach our goal and ban the weapon of war that killed 17 of my daughters' peers and educators? Every dollar will go directly toward our mission to pass commonsense gun violence prevention legislation and stop the next mass tragedy.

Thank you,

Dr. Nicole Cook
Parkland parent