I’ve been moved to see so many people, especially young people, speaking out and making their voices heard in the fight for meaningful gun reform. In Congress, I’m cosponsoring measures banning assault weapons and bump stocks, implementing universal background checks, closing loopholes for abusers, and a range of other policies to make our schools and communities safer. I’ve also introduced my own bill to establish a national 3-day waiting period on handgun purchases, based on a Harvard Business School study, to reduce both homicides and suicides.
But all of the bills I’m supporting, developing, and introducing aren’t going anywhere right now because the Republican leadership won’t let them. I’m going to continue fighting for real gun control in Congress and my district, but I also recognize that this is a struggle that will be won by the movement of people taking to the streets, in Washington, and across the country. Real movements aren’t about any leaders, they’re about organizing and communicating well enough to be about the people who are part of them. That’s why I support the March for Our Lives and will be attending a march in my district tomorrow.
A few weeks ago, my eldest son’s school organized their own walkout in solidarity with the students of Parkland. I supported them and sent them this open letter which my son read to his classmates:
Dear Students of Lincoln Prairie:
One of my favorite stories from the history of our country is a conversation between Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau, a great American philosopher, had been jailed for failing to pay a tax that supported a war he deeply opposed.
Emerson visited Thoreau in jail, and on seeing him in his cell exclaimed: “Henry, what are you doing in here?”
To which Thoreau responded: “Waldo, what are you doing out there?”
This is one of those moments in American history. The student walkouts being observed at Lincoln Prairie and in schools throughout our country reflect the best of America---our willingness to stand for what we believe in, and our readiness to act when action is needed.
You deserve to be kept safe at your school and in your communities. Please know that I will do everything within my power to find legislative solutions to the problem of school shootings.
But your actions today, and your determination to push to end gun violence in our schools and in our country, make me optimistic for our future.
I have only one request---do not stop here. Make this your first step in a lifelong journey of civic involvement, including on this critical issue of stopping gun violence. You are proving today that it is never too early in life to start the work of making our country a better place for all our citizens.
With best wishes to you all,
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress