Folks,

On Tuesday, a gunman walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and opened fire, killing 19 students and two teachers. We didn’t even have time to grieve the shooting in Buffalo last week that killed 13 people in a grocery store before another preventable tragedy struck.

We cannot accept this as everyday life in America. There’s nothing normal about finding out that a loved one – a spouse, a child, a parent, or a friend – will never come home again. My heart is with each of these families as well as my deepest commitment to take action.

For too long, Congress has failed to take the necessary actions to protect our communities. Time and again, we hear Republicans offer their “thoughts and prayers” while doing nothing to prevent future attacks.

They cower in fear of the gun lobby and put special interests above the needs of their constituents. Enough is enough.

We know that gun violence is preventable. We know that the American public supports solutions such as background checks. What we need now is for enough Republicans to have the courage to act.

I want students across MI-11 and the country to know that I refuse to accept that this is the way it has to be, which is why in March I sat down with a few Oxford students to listen to their ideas and talk about how to move forward. 

It’s heartbreaking to know another nineteen students will never receive their diplomas because their lives were cut short. But watching other young people honor them with action motivates me to keep pressing for common sense gun safety legislation in Congress.

In solidarity,

Haley