This past weekend, Americans witnessed two horrifying shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Yet again, we saw another senseless act of gun violence kill mothers, fathers, neighbors and friends in public spaces – places we are supposed to feel safe.

The frightening reality is that a mass shooting can happen anywhere – here in Nashua, or any place in our state – because our so-called leaders have done nothing to prevent them. They offer their thoughts and prayers, and yet violence like we saw this past weekend has become so common in American life that we risk becoming numb to their horror.

Donald Trump has equivocated white supremacy with mental illness and refused to address the gun crisis in our country. We need new leadership, and that starts with changing the person sitting behind the Resolute Desk.

There only is one candidate for president who has a gun-violence prevention plan that goes further than anyone else. I was impressed to hear Cory Booker speak about his plan in New Hampshire not two days ago, but two years ago, at a Moms Demand Action forum. He has long displayed moral courage in outlining policies that would not just prevent future tragedies, but to stamp out potential harm before it even arises. Cory’s plan would ban assault weapons and institute universal background checks – commonsense proposals that a vast majority of Americans of both parties support.

But going beyond that, he also would seek to institute a federal gun licensing requirement, knowing that if you need a license to buy a car, you should need a license to buy a gun. He personally understands the pain of gun violence, and knows these tragedies aren’t just limited to mass shootings, but inflict pain on cities like his hometown of Newark every single day.

As president, Cory will summon our common pain into our common purpose and work to take on the corporate gun lobby and end the scourge of gun violence in this nation. We can’t be numb – we must take action.

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