Fighting to end gun violence is brave

Putting greed above American lives is not

As we organize to #WearOrange this weekend, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the many volunteers, students, and organizers leading the fight to end gun violence. I am inspired by your bravery.

Mass shootings and gun violence are a national crisis that threaten the safety of our families and communities. Each day, one hundred Americans are killed with guns. Victims of gun violence are disproportionately women of color. That is beyond unacceptable. These deaths are preventable, and it’s past time something was done about it.

As president, I’ll pass universal background checks, ban assault weapons, close gun sale loopholes, and stop gun trafficking. These are worthy fights to wage for the safety of American families and I look forward to leading them.

But I also want to share with you the most important thing I believe we can do to end gun violence — and that’s getting money out of politics.

By far, the biggest obstacle we face in passing common-sense gun legislation is the NRA. Their hold over Republicans means that as long as Mitch McConnell presides over the Senate, the bills we need to pass will never come to a vote.

So we have to stop the problem at the source. We have to overturn Citizens United (the Supreme Court case that allows unlimited dark money to be spent in elections), and we need to pass my Clean Elections Plan to hold candidates accountable to people — not special interests.

Ending gun violence starts with getting the NRA’s money out of politics.

As a senator, I’ve sat in front of too many parents who lost their children to senseless gun violence. I promised those mothers and fathers that I would do everything in my power to make sure their children’s deaths weren’t in vain — and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

I don’t care how big the NRA is, or how much money they spend against me. We’re taking our democracy back, and we’re going to pass common-sense gun reform.