John–

Here we are again. We're not numb—we're traumatized.

Last night at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, six people were shot and killed and at least four more were wounded by a store employee.

For the second time this week, someone was able to bring a gun to a place where people were trying to just live their lives, and murdered innocent civilians.

This is devastating. In a week when many of us are celebrating Thanksgiving, there will now be empty chairs at dinner tables. Like it has in so many other cases, gun violence has robbed people of their loved ones and their joy.

We cannot accept a country where gunfire can ring out at any moment. This mass shooting comes just days after the tragedy at Club Q in Colorado Springs, where five people were killed and at least 18 more were wounded. It also takes place on the heels of another recent shooting in Virginia, where three students were killed at the University of Virginia.

Whether it's at a store making preparations for the upcoming holiday, at a club finding joy with friends and loved ones, or coming home from a school field trip, we all deserve to be safe.

The governor of Virginia—a lifetime NRA member—managed to tweet about last night's mass shooting without using the words "gunman" or "shooting," underscoring how NRA lobbyists have made gun violence political by rewarding our politicians for their inaction. And in Colorado, a state with strong gun laws, community members were left vulnerable to gun violence by Colorado Springs leadership declaring the city a "Second Amendment Sanctuary," and by a sheriff who is openly hostile to Extreme Risk laws.

This is exactly why it's so important to elect the right people who are willing to fight for smart policies that can prevent these tragedies—and we have a critical opportunity to do that in a few weeks in Georgia.

While Democrats technically hold the majority in the U.S. Senate with 50 seats plus Vice President Harris' tie breaking vote, we cannot phone it in just yet—having 51 Democratic Senators is critical to passing gun safety priorities: With a stronger Senate majority, Democrats wouldn't have to negotiate a power-sharing agreement with Republicans, there would be a true true gun sense majority on every Senate committee, and it would be easier and faster to pass legislation, confirm judges, and advance gun violence prevention.

No matter what gun lobby lackeys like Glenn Youngkin and Herschel Walker say, gun laws save lives and more guns do not make us safer.

This week has given us an immense amount of grief to hold at once, made even worse when remembering the more than 110 people shot and killed every day, tragedies which often don't make headlines.

Yet together, we can turn that grief into action and build hope that saves lives. We will continue to fight for life-saving policies to mitigate our country's gun violence crisis, and make sure our elected officials do the same. It's what this movement has always done. We keep going.

As we head into the holiday weekend, we'll keep you informed as we get more details on last night's shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia. In the meantime, please take the time to grieve, process, and rest however you need to. I'll be thinking of you and your loved ones.

Thank you for being a part of this movement.

Shannon Watts
She/Her/Hers
Founder
Moms Demand Action