Dear John,
Today marks National Gun Violence Awareness Day — just 10 days after we witnessed the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, when a gunman took the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers.
In the 10 days between the Uvalde shooting and this day of remembrance, 20 more mass shootings have taken place across our country. And men, women, and children have been killed by acts of gun violence on streets and in homes throughout communities coast to coast, by gun violence in the urban core, and other such horrific crimes that may not make headlines.
This constant stream of violence is heartbreaking — and it must end.
Today, I’m reminded of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — of when I met the families who lost loved ones and spent hours working with those very families, as well as survivors and legislators, to turn our community’s collective grief into action.
At the time, my colleagues and I passed the bipartisan Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act to help prevent shootings like those in Parkland from happening again. We raised the minimum age to buy a gun to 21, and created red flag laws that have been used nearly 6,000 times.
But there is still more that must be done, both here in Florida and on the federal level.
On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, we must remember that we’re still facing a crisis of gun violence in our state. In 2020, the number of children killed by guns in Florida was higher than the national average.
We must pass common-sense gun safety legislation. I will never stop fighting until we get to the root of our community's gun violence problem and take the necessary steps to keep our communities safe.
One life lost is one too many. So I hope that today, you’ll join me in not only remembering all the lives that we’ve lost to gun violence, but also in taking action to put a stop to future tragedies.
With gratitude,
Lauren
