John, holidays like these come with mixed feelings for me and my family. I get to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mom to my two kids, but I also miss my own mother who should be here, sharing the weekend with all of us.

But my mom can only be with us in memory this weekend, because 18 years ago, my mom was murdered in a senseless act of gun violence in her own home. Gun violence has stolen many special moments I could have had with my mom – more key lime pie and belly laughs, seeing her with my kids – and I don’t want it to continue stealing moments from families or any American. 

My mom remains my inspiration in the work that I do every day. It took many years to work through the grief and trauma that comes with a loss like this, but I’ve found that working with Brady and fighting for a country that is not plagued by more loss, is what I want to do to honor my mother. 

Like so many other gun violence survivors, like many of us at Brady, I miss who I lost every day. And this Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about my mom and all of the families we could save from tragedy if we just took action against this epidemic. 

Now, as a mother myself, I'm using my voice to ask you for your help: We need you in this fight to make sure that no other family ever suffers the pain and loss that families like mine did. After the deadliest year of gun violence in recent memory, it is more important than ever to pass legislation that will save lives. But we can't do it alone. We need grassroots supporters like YOU on our side. 

That's why I'm calling on 10,000 grassroots supporters to add their name by midnight tonight to demand that Congress take action to pass common-sense, life-saving gun safety laws. Please, in honor of my mom and all the loved ones that have been killed, will you sign the petition right now?

Days like these are extremely difficult, John — but with you on our side, I know tomorrow will be better. 

Thank you,

Liz Dunning
Gun Violence Survivor & Vice President of Development