I’m writing to you today as a mom of a middle schooler, and a Catholic.
Yesterday morning, as students at Annunciation Catholic School gathered at Mass to celebrate the first day of school, a shooter killed two students and wounded 17 others.
My heart is broken.
I am praying for the families that have lost children, the Annunciation community still with us, and for all the police officers and EMTs that ran towards danger, not away.
But we have to pray with our feet. We have to turn our prayer into action.
We have to say, enough.
Last night, we gathered to do just that. Last night, thousands of people gathered to mourn and to demand a future free from gun violence — a future where we love our children more than our guns.
Not one more baby.
Not one more child.
Not one more faith community.
Not one more school.
At Annunciation, the theme of this school year was drawn from Jeremiah 29, which talks about “a future filled with hope.” Hope is a choice. Hope is a decision that we get to make every single day.
Our love for our children is greater than our love for our guns. And our courage is greater than the complacency in our politicians.
It’s time for Congress to stop playing partisan games with our children’s lives.
It’s time for real, comprehensive gun reform. We need significant, nationwide investment in mental health services, so we can identify and treat people in crisis. We need bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, comprehensive background checks into the mental health of potential gun owners, and federal red flag laws.
I’m ready to stand up in this fight. I hope you’re ready to stand with me.
Chi Miigwech,
Peggy Flanagan
