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Have you heard the news today? Fran Millar and other GOP legislators are considering voting down a tax break for Delta because Delta doesn’t want to offer discounted fares to NRA members. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, chief among the conservatives in national news today, made his position very clear: if you “attack conservatives,” you should expect them to “fight back.”

When I read that, I thought of the children in Parkland, Florida who were returning to school this week. I got angry. Georgia’s GOP isn’t fighting to protect our children from gun violence. Republican legislators here are fighting to protect the NRA.

And at what cost?

Here, in Georgia, you can carry a gun almost anywhere – onto a college campus, at a public concert, at a nightclub, into a school. We know from Virginia Tech, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Sandy Hook, that more guns in more places result in more loss of life.

Last week, I rallied with Moms Demand Action at the Gold Dome (video). Few Republican legislators would listen to our calls for common sense gun laws.

Instead, these same representatives are now seeking to punish one of our state’s largest corporations for terminating a relationship with the NRA.

What does that mean for other international companies, including Amazon, who are considering establishing headquarters offices here or bringing more jobs to our state? Will the Gold Dome next require CEOs to get NRA approval before companies can relocate to Georgia?

Our state government should be in the business of creating infrastructure, boosting our economy, and helping Georgians build more secure futures – not fighting for the rights to carry weapons of war. We shouldn’t be worrying about whether our children will return home from school alive each day.

Our representatives are so focused on the interests of one organization, the NRA, that they have forgotten their sworn duty to support the interests and priorities of their own constituents. It’s time for new leadership.

Sally

Last week, I asked you to march with me to the Georgia Capitol for the Moms Demand Action Advocacy Day. You would think protecting our children from gun violence and mass shootings would be something we all can agree on. But our state government refused to turn on our microphones. We refused to be silenced as we chanted, “Never again!”

It was a powerful day — I have never seen so many people pour into the Capitol. Many of you got to speak personally with your representatives. Unfortunately, I heard some were told, “Don’t expect anything to happen this session.”

There were several bills brought forward tightening up background checks and banning assault weapon and bump stock sales, but they languished with no action.

Yet, I am still hopeful that we have finally reached a tipping point for common sense gun reform. It’s quite possible that reform will come at the state level, as Congress continues to listen to the NRA instead of the people.

A federal court in Maryland just upheld an assault weapons ban originally enacted by the Maryland State Senate following the Sandy Hook tragedy. It is so important that we, in 2018, support and elect progressive candidates at the state level whose values are aligned with the common sense policies we need to protect our families and communities.

Today, I picked up my mail at my post office. There I found a donation with a note, “Thank you for your support against gun violence. My grandchildren’s lives are at stake.”

We are scared. We are hurting. I have a responsibility to keep fighting for change by running an effective campaign and inspiring people to vote.  And each and every one of you has the power to take the NRA down. Get involved. Help a progressive candidate. Volunteer. Make phone calls. Put up a yard sign. Make a donation. Take a friend to the polls. Make a difference.

Sally

It has happened again. I heard audio clips of the shots being fired — they were fast, they were constant, and they kept going. I’m even more outraged. This should not be possible.

So, I’m marching. Will you join me? Moms Demand Action, Wednesday, February 21, 2018, Georgia State Capitol, 10am – 1pm. Wear red. Let’s fill the Capitol. Page your legislators from the floor. Make them dedicate a day of work to listening to us. Our kids need to see adults in charge speak up for them.

Register here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1734006126656969/

Parents across the country are scared to send their children to school. Our kids and teachers now use precious learning time to practice “run, hide, fight” in active shooter drills.

And why have our politicians done nothing to stop this? Because they say, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” That’s true, but the murderers who have committed mass shootings didn’t use pistols, they used semi-automatic weapons typically reserved as weapons of war.

Our politicians say if we “outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them.” Well, so far as I have heard, most the guns used for mass shootings have been legally acquired.

And finally, NRA spokespeople will say that gun control isn’t the answer because what if one day, a “well-regulated militia” is all that stands between us and government-backed terror?

Well, for the thousands of survivors and the thousands more family members who have lost loved ones to mass shootings these last few years, I would argue that they are already living in terror, horror, and grief.

I pray that we won’t see a crime like Las Vegas, or Sandy Hook, or Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School here in Georgia. But prayers for victims are too late. We need action NOW from our representatives.

We need politicians to pass legislation for common sense gun control.

If they won’t act, we will vote them out. And until Election Day, we can keep them busy listening to us instead of the NRA.

Sally