Christy Smith for Congress

Hi John,

Yesterday, in Uvalde in Texas, 19 elementary school kids crawled out of bed, ate their favorite breakfast cereal, bunny-looped their sneakers, packed their school backpacks, and headed off to school – excited to get through the final two days of class before summer vacation.

They did not return home that day. Every parents' worst nightmare came true when a gunman brought an AR rifle to Robb Elementary School, slaughtering 21 people, 19 of them children, and two teachers.

This shooting comes just 10 days after Buffalo, where families are still reeling from the racially-motivated, deliberate attack on a Black community that left 10 people dead.

My heart is shattered for the families and the Uvalde community. While these heartbreaking and all-too-common acts of violence are horrific, they are also entirely preventable.

What kind of moral compass can we claim if we continue to let concert-goers, movie-goers, families going grocery shopping, and children — for God's sake — fall victim to gun violence month after month?

While I'm heartbroken by the tragedy in Uvalde, I'm also furious. Furious that Republicans, who tweet out thoughts and prayers, continue to cowardly submit to the NRA and gun lobby over protecting the lives of children, families, and communities like Uvalde.

I'm furious that nearly a decade after Sandy Hook, Congress has failed to take one single legislative action to keep our kids and our communities safe because of the GOP's lack of political courage.

We do not have to live in a world like this. The US gun homicide rate is 26 times that of other high-income countries. There are steps we can take right now to save lives and prevent future tragedies as long as we have the political will and courage to do it.

My thoughts are with Uvalde and Buffalo today.

— Christy

PS: If you're wondering how you can do more, and turn your outrage into action, you can go find more information from Moms Demand Action and Brady PAC.