September 4, 2024

Our hearts are shattered at the news of another school shooting, this time in Winder, Georgia. We refuse to accept this reality as normal. One thing is clear: no community is safe from gun violence in America.

As we learn the details of this shooting, we’re reminded of the deadly consequences of lax gun laws. Here in Texas in 2018, the Santa Fe High School shooter used his father’s firearm to kill 10 people and injure 13 others. The survivors could have held the parents accountable through a stronger child access prevention law, and policies requiring safe storage of firearms could prevent future tragedies like this.

In the aftermath, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick focused on the design of schools, claiming “too many entrances and too many exits” were the problem. He said it’s “not about the guns, it’s about us.”

But we know the truth: easy access to guns is the problem, not the layout of our school buildings. That’s why we refused to stand by and wait for the next tragedy. Instead, we fought for and helped pass Texas’ first safe gun storage policy in years — a law that requires the state to distribute safe gun storage information to parents and guardians of students.

In honor of the lives shattered in Georgia, in Santa Fe, and in communities across the country, we urge you to take action today by reading our Safe Storage Toolkit and writing letters to school districts across Texas to ensure they are distributing life-saving firearm storage information to parents. Together, we can ensure that schools are safe spaces for learning.

In solidarity,