Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Ten years since we lost 20 innocent children and 6 selfless educators to an act of senseless gun violence.

For many residents in Newtown, ten years feels like yesterday. December 14, 2012 is a day I will never forget. I was serving jury duty and rushed back to my classroom when the news broke. I knew my students would have questions; whether I had the answers or not, they needed me there. As a teacher and a legislator, I have a heightened sense of responsibility to try and find answers to the questions my students had.

Since that horrific event, more than one million Americans have been shot and over 400,000 killed by guns.

Gun violence is an epidemic that will not solve itself.

In Washington, we are making progress. This year, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first gun safety bill in nearly 30 years. However, there is so much left for us to accomplish to put an end to this violence.

For the communities devastated by mass shootings, we must show courage and take action. We owe it to the 26 families from Sandy Hook to work together to make this happen. We owe it to over 38,000 people that will die each year from gun violence to do better. We owe it to the 50 million people who are affected by mental health challenges each year. We owe it to ourselves because we are capable of creating change. Thank you for standing with me in this fight for a safer and better future.

With love and strength,

– Jahana