Tweet - "I'm speaking on the Senate floor to call for action here in this chamber to end the crisis of gun violence we've long seen in our schools, neighborhoods, and across our country. I will not stay quiet & will keep pushing for change. "

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"I'm speaking on the Senate floor to call for action here in this chamber to end the crisis of gun violence we've long seen in our schools, neighborhoods, and across our country.

I will not stay quiet & will keep pushing for change.

Last week, we mourned the deaths of 4 high school students following the tragic school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan.

My heart goes out to their families and friends, and to every student there who is now carrying the trauma of that experience.

And my heart breaks for every student in this country who grows up thinking something like this will eventually happen to them at their school--and for every parent who worries each time they send their kid off to school.

As a parent and grandparent--and former pre-school teacher--I know school is supposed to be a place where our children feel safe. School is a place to learn, grow, and just be a kid.

But after horrible acts of gun violence like we saw last week, that feeling disappears.

Since last week's shooting, schools across Washington state have had to increase security or lock down due to threats of violence--including my hometown high school in Bothell.

In the same week, Seattle saw 6 shootings in just over 24 hours. This can't continue.

As my colleague
@ChrisMurphyCT
said last week, we are the only high income nation in the world where this happens. And it happens because we let it happen.

Democrats have spent years introducing common-sense gun safety legislation just to be constantly blocked by Republicans.

Republicans won't even allow a debate on legislation that would save lives. How many times are we going to go through this cycle? Like so many Americans, I am done with my Republican colleagues blocking common-sense gun laws at every turn.

While WA state has taken action against gun violence, we can't fully address the gun violence epidemic in this country without taking major federal action, including universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.

A patchwork of gun safety laws simply isn't adequate.

I refuse to let Republican obstruction continue to get in the way of common-sense measures that will save lives.

All options need to be on the table. It's time we restore the Senate to make sure we can actually serve the interests of the vast majority of Americans.

@PattyMurray

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