In light of the tragedies that devastated Columbine, Colo., Newtown, Conn., and Parkland, Fla., mothers everywhere probably find themselves thinking: “God, let my children come home from school today unscathed.” We are mothers as well as elected officials, and we have those thoughts too. We are appalled that every day 95 people die from gunshot wounds and some of the victims are children who are shot to death at school. We will do everything in our power to keep children safe from gun violence.
On April 24 we will have the opportunity to do something about it. Mothers (and others) who care about gun safety should plan to vote in the special election to fill the NYS Senate seat that George Latimer vacated when he became Westchester County Executive.
One candidate, Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, has proved herself a leader in gun safety issues, co-sponsoring and consistently supporting gun safety measures. She co-sponsored the NYS Assembly Safe Act, the strongest gun-control bill in the United States. She recently introduced a bill to prohibit arming teachers with guns. And she has never supported any politician who opposes gun control.
In contrast, her opponent, Julie Killian, has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to politicians who oppose gun control. For example, she contributed $2,600 to Congressman Lee Zeldin, who says we should decrease both restrictions on gun ownership and enforcement of existing regulations, $2,000 to Ann Marie Buerkle, who co-sponsored a bill in Congress to weaken restrictions on gun sales, and $2,700 to Carly Fiorina, whose pro-gun positions include letting people on the no-fly list have guns.
Candidates’ previous actions are the best guide to their future actions. Therefore, on April 24th we believe that voting for Shelley Mayer is a strong step to keeping our children safe from gun violence. Please join us.
- County Legislator Catherine Parker, Deputy Mayor
Emily Hurd, City Councilmembers Sara Goddard, Julie Souza,
Danielle Tagger-Epstein
