Last week, the parents, siblings, and loved ones of 19 children and 2 adults had the worst day of their lives. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of their pain and grief and as the community works to begin healing, Anne and I continue to hold every single person impacted by the horrific events in Uvalde in our prayers and our hearts.

The worst day of my life was April 16, 2007, when I was Governor of Virginia and received the news that a gunman had opened fire on Virginia Tech's campus, taking 32 lives -- at the time, the deadliest shooting in American history.

In the years between April 16, 2007, and May 24, 2022, thousands of Americans have had the worst days of their lives because of the scourge of gun violence in this country.

And despite that -- despite hearing about the impacts of assault weapons on children's bodies, despite seeing our kids learn how to prepare for active shooters in their classrooms before they learn how to read -- we have stood by and allowed families to continue experiencing this unspeakable horror. We have allowed beautiful lives to be cut mercilessly short.

We have a deep sickness in this country. And we cannot accept it as normal.

The National Rifle Association's chokehold on an entire political party -- and by extension, our progress -- has got to end.

While our nation grieves with the families of Robb Elementary and the people of Uvalde, Texas -- as we grieved with the people of Buffalo before them, with the people of Atlanta, of El Paso, of Virginia Beach, of Parkland, of San Bernardino, of Roseburg, of Charleston, and countless other communities in our nation -- those of us in Washington, who have been elected and trusted by voters to lead this country, must find a path forward to address this nightmare.

I want you to know that I will not stop fighting for legislation here in Congress to make our communities safer -- like the Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act that Mark Warner and I introduced, modeled after the straightforward, commonsense measures our General Assembly has taken at the state level. If we could do it in Virginia -- the NRA's backyard -- we can do it in Washington. The American people overwhelmingly support these reforms, and they can make a difference.

I'm deeply grateful for your support. I won't give up on this.

Tim Kaine

Paid for by Kaine for Virginia

Kaine for Virginia
P.O. Box 239
Alexandria, VA 22313
United States

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