Hi everyone,

The Uvalde community has already suffered so much loss and senseless violence this year. Yesterday evening, as dozens of kids played and people picnicked at Memorial Park in Uvalde, gunfire erupted.

The shooting happened just a mile and a half from the school where 21 people were murdered in May by a teenage gunman. This is Greg Abbott’s Texas — juveniles with guns at a park.

For months, Texans have been calling on Governor Greg Abbott to hold a special session and work on addressing gun violence in Texas because families must feel secure in their own communities.

We’ve been asking to raise the legal age to buy assault-style rifles — but our cries have fallen on deaf ears.

As we continue pushing for stronger gun laws in Texas and around the country, I hope we do not have to lose any more lives in order for Republicans like Abbott to finally see — we have to do something.

I’m thinking of Uvalde today — the families of Robb Elementary, the families who were in the park last night, and everyone else who has been or will be impacted by gun violence in America. We owe it to them to keep fighting.

In solidarity,

John Lira