I Publicly Called Out My Favorite Senator and Now I Must Thank Him

It's not easy to talk to the press about being shot and losing a friend to gun violence. It's even harder to tell your story while calling out one of the most powerful members of Congress. But some issues are just that important.
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It's not easy to talk to the press about being shot and losing a friend to gun violence. It's even harder to tell your story while calling out one of the most powerful members of Congress. But some issues are just that important.

Expanding Brady background checks is one of them. When we talk about the lives that will be saved by expanding simple, effective background checks to every gun sale, one of the lives we're talking about might be mine.

Chuck Schumer is my Senator. He's also a staunch ally to the gun violence prevention movement. But it's just as important to hold your friends accountable as it is your foes. And on Monday I joined Brady Campaign leaders and advocates to ask Senator Schumer to keep a promise he made to us and introduce an expanded background check bill into the Senate.

As a survivor of gun violence and a constituent, I still wondered whether my voice would really matter. And did I really want to put myself out there like that, with an ally I respect?

Some in the gun violence prevention movement asked the same question. But I felt - and my colleagues, friends and fellow advocates at Brady felt - that it was critical to ask our champion to step up once again.

And I'm glad I did. Within hours of receiving thousands of calls from Brady supporters - and soon after I publicly asked Senator Schumer to make good on his promise - he introduced a bill to expand Brady background checks to every gun sale - a Brady Bill 2.0. And now it's time for me to thank Senator Schumer.

When Senator Schumer made his promise last November - at a gala filled with gun violence survivors, advocates, donors, celebrities, and politicians - the room was electric. Senator Schumer talked about his career championing gun safety laws and then said, "We are going to bring the universal background check bill to the floor of the Senate early next year."

I nearly spit out my drink - I couldn't believe it. The news was huge and unexpected. But then months passed without Senator Schumer taking action.

So I travelled to DC in April to meet with one of Schumer's aides and explained why this issue is so important to me - why I hang on every word he says about gun violence prevention.

In 1999, I was on a date with a friend when we were robbed at gunpoint. We were both shot and a few hours later Philip died. Our shooter was apprehended by police and later pled guilty. Today, he is still serving time in a Georgia prison, but will likely be released in a few years. Once out of prison, my shooter - a confessed murderer - will be able to purchase a firearm without a background check from a private seller at a gun show or through the internet, easily. No questions asked.

I can't wait much longer for Congress to act. And neither can the 90 Americans who will be killed by a gun today, tomorrow, the day after that, and so on. That's why Senator Schumer's decision to introduce Brady Bill 2.0 is such a huge victory to me - and why I'm so glad I spoke up and asked him to keep his promise.

So, THANK YOU, Senator Schumer for hearing me, and the thousands of other advocates, who called on you to do what's right. We need this bill. We deserve it.

The fight to expand life-saving Brady background checks is already under way, but advocates need a bill to rally behind.

The original Brady bill took seven consecutive years and six votes to become law. And since then, Brady background checks have stopped 2.6 million gun sales to people who shouldn't have them. We know the law works. It's paramount that we keep doing everything we can to close the loopholes and expand background checks to all gun sales. While I'm at it, I should thank Senator Schumer for the original Brady bill too. After all, it was his bill.

Take Action: You, too, can stand up and demand that your Senator do the right thing and cosponsor S. 2934 - Brady Bill 2.0. Click here for ways to contact them: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/. If they've already co-sponsored Brady Bill 2.0, thank them. (Thank you, Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand!) Worried your Senator is in the NRA's pocket? Call anyway. Remember, they work for you.

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