Virginia House Democratic Caucus Statement on Shootings in Cities Across the Country on Anniversary of Parkland Shooting

See below for a press release from the VA House Democratic Caucus, as well as video of a speech by Del. Adele McClure (D-Arlington), on the unacceptability of continued gun violence in America – including yesterday afternoon in Kansas City – and how “we do not have to live this way.”

Virginia House Democratic Caucus Statement on Shootings in Cities Across the Country on Anniversary of Parkland Shooting

RICHMOND, VA –  The Virginia House Democratic Caucus issued the following statement in light of the recent tragic shootings in Houston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C.,  and Kansas City on the sixth anniversary of the shooting in Parkland, FL:

“We are thinking about the victims of the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Parade yesterday afternoon, including the number of children who suffered gunshot wounds. Our hearts are broken for the family that will be sitting down to dinner with an empty chair in the place of a loved one and for the trauma that those children will experience as a result. So too do our hearts ache for the four victims of gun violence at a highschool in Atlanta, the three officers who were shot doing their jobs in Washington, D.C., and the people who were injured at a church in Houston on Sunday.

February 14th marks a solemn and painful day of remembrance for families across the country — and this week families from four more cities were added to that list. There have been 49 mass shootings this year alone. Virginians know all too well the feelings that follow a mass shooting, and we refuse to be silent or complacent on this issue. Though, thankfully, lives were not lost in each of the shootings this week, this type of senseless violence makes victims of entire towns, and we do not have to live this way.

We must implement and strengthen common sense gun safety measures because our children deserve a future where they do not live in fear walking on a college campus or in a movie theater or a mall or church or a grocery store or a parade celebrating their favorite team.”