A Letter to Virginia Voters
When we founded our organization, we said that if lawmakers didn’t find the courage to support life-saving, responsible gun policies, we’d find new lawmakers. After the shooting in Las Vegas, Mark and I went to Capitol Hill to demand action from Congress and two weeks later they have not yet acted. Whether it’s in Washington, D.C. or in state capitols, we need elected officials with courage to lead.
This November voters will head to the polls in Virginia to elect a new governor. The race is close, and voters will have a choice between a candidate that has shown courage on this issue, and someone who has been lockstep with special interests and the gun lobby.
I wanted to the share the letter below that I wrote for Virginians this week. As we think about elections both this year and next, we can’t forget about the stakes and how what we do will impact lives.
On January 8, 2011, a disturbed young man shot me and 18 other people while I was holding a constituent meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Six people died, including a nine-year old girl.
On April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech, 32 people were killed and another 17 were wounded when a gunman opened fire. The shooter was able to purchase his guns, despite the fact that a Virginia judge had found him mentally ill.
Two weeks ago a deranged gunman killed 58 people and wounded more than 500 at a concert in Las Vegas.
Across our country the horror of gun violence has cut short lives, leaving the heartbroken survivors to try and make sense of the inexplicable. It is a terrible, complicated problem that requires thoughtful, compassionate and courageous leaders.
Here in Virginia, you have the chance to elect such a leader. As a physician, Ralph Northam is all too familiar with the destruction that a bullet causes to the human body. As an Army doctor, he treated soldiers wounded during Desert Storm. As your governor, he will stand stand up to the gun lobby and work with the legislature to pass commonsense laws that make our schools, our churches and our streets safer.
The gun lobby is spending $1.5 million to elect Ed Gillespie. They know that he will block any efforts to pass even the most common sense gun safety measures, like background checks, that could help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, including felons, suspected terrorists, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill.
This choice could not be more clear: Ralph Northam knows the devastating impact of gun violence and will stand up to the gun lobby for lifesaving legislation that keeps Virginians safe. Ed Gillespie is funded by the gun lobby and supports their radical agenda.
The past few weeks have shown us that the stakes could not be higher. Please, on November 7th vote for Ralph Northam for Governor. Do it for yourself, and for all those whose lives have ever been touched by gun violence.
