John,

I was horrified to see the news yesterday coming out of Highland Park, Illinois – near where I grew up.

On a day when Americans gather to celebrate our founding principles, another community was devastated by a senseless shooting. A lone gunman fired 70 rounds into the crowd in a pre-planned attack on the local 4th of July parade – killing seven and wounding 47 individuals. 

We just took the first step in Congress toward common-sense gun safety reform, but it is abundantly clear more needs to be done to stem the rising tide of gun violence in America. 

That could have been you or me at that parade, John. As an elected official, I regularly march in holiday parades and have been to more than my fair share as a spectator as well. 

And it wasn’t just in Illinois, there were more than a dozen mass shootings around the country during this 4th of July weekend – from Boston to New York to Minneapolis to Washington to Texas, adding to the more than 300 mass shootings already this year. 

Unfortunately, the fact remains that we are still up against the NRA and a gun manufacturing industry intent on continuing to value their profits over people’s lives. But, we are making continued progress toward common-sense gun safety reforms like Universal Background Checks in Washington, and I promise I will continue to do everything in my power to lead us forward. 

Tonight, I’ll pause to pray for the most recent victims of gun violence and their families. Tomorrow, our work continues in earnest.

-- Lucy