John, three years ago today, I was awakened by the police at my door with the news that every parent dreads: My son, Will, had been shot at a friend’s house in our hometown of Mukilteo, and I needed to get to the hospital right away.

My thoughts immediately turned to the worst. In that awful moment, I didn’t know how badly Will was hurt, or the kind of pain he was suffering in the ICU as the doctors rushed to treat him.

Every day, I give thanks that Will was one of the lucky ones. He was shot in the back, and the bullet went into his chest – but miraculously, he wasn’t killed. Three of his friends, however, were not so lucky. They were murdered by a former classmate who attacked them with a Ruger semi-automatic rifle at the gathering earlier that night.

Since that day, I committed to work towards reducing the gun violence epidemic. Last year, I was the citizen sponsor of I-1639, and I was thrilled when voters overwhelmingly approved this groundbreaking initiative.

But we should have known that wouldn’t be the end of it. Ever since we passed I-1639, the gun lobby has attacked it relentlessly. They are suing in federal court to overturn it, and some sheriffs, bowing to gun lobby pressure, are expressing public opposition to a law they’re sworn to uphold. This fight isn’t over.

I-1639 is the most comprehensive piece of gun safety policy we’ve ever passed – it will help prevent mass shootings like the one that almost killed my son, and we’ve got to protect it. Will you donate $5 or more today to protect I-1639 from the gun lobby’s attacks and save lives from gun violence?

We’ve made some concrete progress recently in the fight against gun violence.

Eight new gun violence bills just went into effect. We are strengthening protection orders, keeping guns out of the wrong hands, and restricting access to firearms for people in crisis.

I am proud of this work, but I know that we can’t let up. Not for one minute. One court ruling is all that stands between a historic victory like I-1639 and the former status quo, when assault weapons were as easy to obtain as cough medicine.

My son was lucky, sure – but I know he could have died if the bullet had lodged just one inch further from his shoulder. I don’t want a single person to have to face those odds again, or to live with the physical and emotional scars of having been through a trauma like that.

I’ll never stop fighting to prevent other parents from hearing the news I heard three years ago, and today, from the bottom of my heart, I’m asking you to join me: Will you donate $5 or more now to protect I-1639 and help protect commonsense policy that will save lives from gun violence?

Thank you,

Paul Kramer