Why We Need You in D.C. on Thursday, September 22nd
Kitty Brandtner at the March Fourth rally in DC, July 13th, 2022
Another trip to D.C.? Yep.
Why?
Because it worked.
In July, we showed up 500+ strong—and rallied. Survivors and victims’ families willingly and purposefully relived their trauma in front of hundreds of people in an effort to save others from this same reality. And what happened? A bill to ban assault weapons found its way to the House floor two weeks later and PASSED. So…it worked.
President Biden has said we must have this ban, and that he will sign it. So the Senate is the one last step before this is a reality. Just one last step to making a dent in the mass shooting epidemic that America has been living with for 20 years. Just one last step to eliminating from our streets weapons made to liquify organs and murder in mass. Will this solve all America’s problems? Of course not. But this is a huge start. It isn’t hard. It isn’t complicated. It isn’t political. It IS time.
Why is it important to physically go to D.C.? First, let me tell you that I had never attended a “march” in D.C. before. So I didn’t really get why it mattered. But now, I get it. When Americans show up and exercise their civic duty to speak out about things that matter to them, legislators listen. But if it’s a small crowd, it can be ignored. WE WILL NOT BE IGNORED.
Secondly, if parents who had to bury their children after sending them to school can make their way for a day, we can too. If teachers who have survived a school shooting only to continue leading active-shooter drills at their schools can make their way to D.C. for a day, we can too. If children and young adults whose friends were slaughtered in their school but they somehow survived, if THEY can make it for a day, so can we. This is truly what it feels like to be on the brink of real change. But it doesn’t happen on its own. And it doesn’t happen when you rely on others to show up instead. We show up together. We show up in the thousands. We create a spectacle in their town so they cannot escape the urgency and pressure to do the right thing. Again, this isn’t hard.
After the first march in July, I had countless emails and texts from attendees saying that day changed their lives. I had countless notes from speakers saying that no matter how hard that was, it was cathartic and healing. It’s easy to click to the next instagram story, turn the page, change the channel… but without this ban, one day YOU could be on that story/page/channel. Your town. Your family. I know because it happened to my friends. And I’m not willing to wait for it to happen to me before we make something happen.
There are thousands of organizations focused on gun violence prevention, and focused on healing after gun violence – because now, it’s normal in America. We welcome all of them to join us in D.C. When we all stand together, we can do anything. It’s time to literally stand up for change – this is real legislation that is possible RIGHT NOW. There is momentum, there is emotion, and all we need is your participation. Thank you. I can’t wait to do this, together.
