I am voting for Joe Biden to be our next President on November 3rd. If like me, you care about public safety, decency, civility, and genuine concern for all Americans, you have no choice but to join me. I will be voting because I want to deliver a better, safer, and more just world for my children Jesse and Jaime. I want Jesse, who will soon be 20, to raise children in a country where we are working to reduce gun violence. I want Jesse to be able to send his children to school in a country where he won’t have to worry about gun violence. For Jaime, that is already too late. On February 14th 2018, I sent Jesse and Jaime to school in Parkland, Fl. Just after 2pm, Jesse called me to say that there was a shooting in his school and that it was still happening. Thankfully, he was already running from the school to safety. As he was running, he was hearing the bullets fly. The gunshots that he was hearing were from the AR-15 that would ultimately kill his sister, Jaime.
Jaime had a favorite saying when she was alive, and it was “Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination.” For Jaime and for our nation’s children, I have a dream of reducing gun violence and I am dedicating my life to making sure that it happens. One person who has also dedicated himself to ensuring that we do everything possible to reduce gun violence is our next president, Joe Biden. A President Biden will understand the pain of loss unlike any president before him. The empathy and compassion for others that he will have will motivate him every day to do more to ensure families across America do not come to know this pain of loss the way that both he and I do.
Shortly after Jaime’s murder, Joe Biden called me. He talked to me about getting through grief. We spoke about mission and purpose. We also spoke about his prior legislative fights with the NRA and passing the assault weapons ban. Joe Biden has taken on the NRA before and he has won. Perhaps that is why the NRA is now endorsing the current occupant of the White House. The NRA is afraid of Joe Biden. They should be. Simply put, Joe Biden has done this before and now more than ever, he is committed to doing this again. For our children, our next president plans to solve the issue of rampant gun violence. During his presidency, we will reduce the gun violence death rate in America.
Joe Biden, our next president, has a plan to do this and he has promised that it will be an immediate priority. Here are some components of his very comprehensive plan:
⦁ He will start by ensuring the background checks bill which is supported by over 90% of all Americans gets passed.
⦁ Close loopholes such as the boyfriend loophole, the hate crime loophole, the Charleston loophole and fugitive from justice loophole.
⦁ Reinstate the Obama era policy to keep guns out of the hands of those unable to manage their affairs for mental health reasons, a policy that was reversed by this current White House occupant.
⦁ He will get weapons of war off our streets by banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines. He will also regulate the possession of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act.
⦁ Buy back existing assault weapons already in our communities.
⦁ He will work to repeal Protection of Lawful Commerce In Arms Act or PLCCA which currently prevents gun manufacturers from being held accountable.
⦁ Reduce the stockpiling of weapons.
⦁ End the online sales of firearms and ammunition.
⦁ Incentivize states to pass “Extreme Risk” laws which are saving lives already in states across America.
⦁ Give states incentives to set up gun licensing programs.
Unlike this current administration, which has refused to acknowledge the role of guns in the mass shooting that killed my daughter and 16 others, Joe Biden understands this. He understands that reducing gun violence is no longer something that we as a Nation can ignore. He has a plan that will lead to a reduction in the gun violence death rate. He has a plan that will lead to fewer children being killed at school and a plan that will ensure that fewer children are not left without a parent because of gun violence.
A Joe Biden presidency means that we finally get to solve the issue of gun violence. If he does not win, the consequences of having done nothing and having a Supreme Court tilt further to the right only ensures that we will not be able to solve this problem for generations. Your loved ones will be in danger. That is a risk I am not willing to take.
Please join me in voting for Joe Biden on November 3rd.
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We want to thank Fred Guttenberg for guest writing for this week’s Biden War Room Testimonial Tuesday. Be sure to check out and pre-order his new book, “Find the Helpers”.
