July 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Last weekend, millions of Americans gathered to celebrate our independence and our freedom on the Fourth of July. Amid the parades, cookouts, and block parties, however, the all-too-familiar menace of gun violence plagued festivities in communities across our nation.
On what should have been a joyous day of celebration in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, a gunman opened fire on the largely Jewish community amidst parade festivities, killing seven people, injuring dozens more, and leaving a two-year-old boy orphaned. And this nightmare, the 309th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, was not the only horrific act of hate and violence over the holiday weekend.
In New York City, 13 people were shot and three killed in six separate incidents across the city. In Minneapolis, eight people were wounded after a shooting late Monday night at a public park where families celebrated the holiday. In Philadelphia, two law enforcement officers were injured in a shooting at a Fourth of July concert that sent thousands of spectators fleeing through the streets for their lives. And in Indianapolis, an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy were shot while playing in a bounce house at a neighborhood cookout.
There are too many of these stories across our nation to count, with each containing the terror and grief of families and communities ripped apart by an epidemic of gun violence that seems unending. It is abundantly clear that our nation is in the grips of a gun crisis, one that many of our nation’s leaders seem unwilling to adequately address. We must do more.
I’m encouraged by some of our recent progress on this issue, particularly the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. When President Biden signed this legislation into law two weeks ago, it represented Congress’ first significant action on gun control in three decades. With commonsense measures like incentivizing states to enact “red flag” laws to remove guns from those considered a threat to themselves or others, closing the “boyfriend loophole” to prevent domestic abusers from obtaining guns, enhancing background checks for buyers under 21, and cracking down on gun trafficking, this bill will save lives.
But, as President Biden said when he signed the bill, “there’s much more work to do.” The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, while a heartening step forward, falls woefully short of addressing the scale of this crisis. We need to take stronger measures that significantly expand background checks, get weapons out of the hands of racist extremists who commit violent acts of hate, raise the minimum age for gun purchases, ban assault weapons and restrict high-capacity magazines.
In fact, the House has already passed two significant gun violence prevention bills in this Congress, both of which I was proud to support. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act would require a background check for every gun sale or transfer and would close the so-called “Charleston loophole” that currently allows the sale of a firearm to proceed if a background check is not completed within three business days.
Despite wide public support, however, this legislation continues to be blocked by Republicans so beholden to the gun lobby that they are willing to simply ignore the glaring crisis that is terrorizing our communities and killing our children, our friends, and our loved ones. It is easy for some to throw up their hands, offer “thoughts and prayers,” and claim that nothing can be done to avert this constant bloodshed. But I fundamentally reject this destructive and cowardly approach.
As we reflect on last weekend’s bittersweet celebration of freedom, let us resolve to do the hard work required to end this national emergency and allow our families and our communities to enjoy that freedom. Let us resolve to build a world where families can celebrate in cherished public spaces without fear for their lives: a world where children like two-year-old Aiden McCarthy are not left bloodied and orphaned after what should have been a joyous outing with his loving parents.
Despite some incremental progress, our communities are still not safe. It is clear they won’t be safe unless and until we pass significant, far-reaching legislation to address this crisis, and I will not rest until we do. The time for action is now.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- This week, the highly contagious Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 became the most dominant in the United States, making up more than 54 percent of cases.
- Getting vaccinated and boosted remains the best way to protect yourself and your community by preventing severe illness and death.
- Additionally, as of last month, nearly every American was deemed eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, with approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to administer vaccines to children between 6 months and 5 years old.
- You can find a vaccine site near you at: vaccines.gov
- Distribution of pediatric vaccinations for younger children is underway across the country, and will be available at thousands of pediatric practices, pharmacies, health centers, and more.
- Parents are encouraged to talk with their child’s pediatrician about next steps and recommendations on getting their child vaccinated.
- Additional information from the CDC for parents and caregivers who have children 6 months and older is available HERE.
