Pat Ryan for Congress

Today marks a somber day.

It’s been 10 years since the Sandy Hook school shooting. A whole decade has passed since we lost the lives of six teachers and 20 elementary school children, kids who today would be 16 and 17-year-old high schoolers. They should be teenagers learning how to drive and dreaming big for their futures; instead, their families are deprived of the opportunity to see their children grow up.

26 innocent children and educators are gone because of a gunman who used a military-style assault weapon. But 10 years later, there have been thousands of mass shootings in our country, and these weapons of war are still legal.

When will enough be enough? Have we really accepted that this is something that will keep happening, that it’s normal to be grieving lost lives time and again? Are we really going to let our children down by failing to act?

We need real action on gun violence from real leaders who have a backbone and won’t succumb to the will of the NRA. I’m committed to being one of those leaders — I’ll do whatever it takes. So please, add your name to our petition to call on Congress to pass legislation that bans assault weapons and strengthens universal background checks. We cannot afford to keep down this same path of gun violence for the next 10 years.

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As a combat veteran, I carried an assault rifle daily. I know from firsthand experience that these are weapons of war — and they have absolutely no place on our streets or in our classrooms.

Gun violence in the U.S. is rampant and rising; this year alone, we have seen over 600 mass shooting incidents. People are afraid and don’t feel safe in public spaces. No one should fear for their lives in spaces like classrooms, malls, or grocery stores.

Congress must pass an assault weapons ban, implement universal background checks, and finally close gun show loopholes. 70% of Americans agree on these common sense gun laws. We can not allow the gun lobby to hold cowards in Congress hostage.

Add your name to our petition if you agree that now is the time for Congress to pass gun safety legislation to protect our communities.

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Yours in service,

Pat