Hello,

Nine years ago today, the world was shocked by the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Twenty families packed lunch pails and put their children on the bus, not knowing that in a moment of evil everything was about to be ripped away from them.

It felt at the time like a turning point. Surely something would be done after the senseless killing of 20 six- and seven-year-old children. Wouldn’t our nation finally do something to stop the mass shootings and the tragic loss of life plaguing our communities?

I’ve heard some suggest, though, that it was the day the NRA won. If the massacre of first graders didn’t lead to immediate gun safety reform, what would?

Since then, names like Parkland, Pulse, San Bernardino, Vegas, and now Oxford have become seared in our memory. But with the Oxford community still reeling from grief, with the parents of Sandy Hook about to mourn a ninth Christmas without their youngsters, I flatly reject the idea that our gun violence epidemic is acceptable because firearms are part of our American culture.

We can – we must – continue to fight for federal gun laws that save lives.

We can – we must – demand that “thoughts and prayers” are coupled with real and meaningful firearm legislation.

And we can – we must – elect more Democrats who seem to be the only ones willing to boldly stand up to the NRA and all their blood money and say enough is enough.

That is how we can remember and honor the victims of senseless gun violence. That is how we can save lives and spare another community from unspeakable heartbreak. And that is how we ensure the NRA never wins.

My opponent Chuck Grassley may have been bought and paid for by the NRA long ago, but I’ll always be a voice for sensible reform in the Senate.

In solidarity,

Mike Franken, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (ret.)