Common Sense Gun Safety
Our nation is suffering from a plague of gun violence in our schools and our communities. Columbine. Blacksburg. Newtown. Orlando. Sutherland Springs. Parkland. Pittsburgh. Virginia Beach. Buffalo. Uvalde. Nashville. Monterey Park. Richmond. It seems like every week, we witness another mass shooting. The terrible toll of gun violence continues unabated.
Like too many people, I have been personally affected by gun violence. In 2007, my close friend and sorority sister was murdered here in Charlottesville. Two men, pretending to be police officers, knocked on her door. When she opened it, they pushed their way in, shot her multiple times in the head, and stole her laptop and car. My friend was only 26 years old and had her whole life ahead of her. She worked selflessly in the non-profit sector. She longed to be a wife and mother, but she never got to be any of those things. Instead, she will forever be our young, beautiful friend whose life was taken much too soon.
As a mother of 5 kids enrolled in ACPS schools, I am committed to creating a safe learning environment for all of our children. That’s why I’m proud to have received the Gun Sense Candidate distinction from Moms Demand Action. Moms Demand is a grassroots movement of almost 10 million Americans who are fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.
If elected to the at-large seat on the Albemarle County School Board, I will fight to for common sense approaches to preventing gun violence in our schools, our homes, and our community:
Promoting the BE Smart gun safety program on ACPS’s website and in information shared with parents to raise awareness about the importance of secure gun storage.
Following the lead of other public school districts by providing free gun locks to ACPS families to help secure firearms at home. A simple gun lock might have prevented the tragic shooting of an elementary school teacher at Richneck Elementary earlier this year.
Effectively implementing ACPS’s Threat Assessment Program to identify individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of students or school staff, and coordinating with mental health counselors, parents, and law enforcement to prevent a troubled person from carrying out acts of violence.
Advocating for federal and state elected officials to adopt and implement widely-supported, common sense gun safety measures, including mandating universal background checks, raising the legal age to buy a firearm to 21, requiring a reasonable waiting period, and prohibiting high-capacity magazines, “bump stocks” and other conversion devices that can transform a gun into an instrument of mass violence.
