Dear Nancy Pelosi,

I just read an article in the New York Times that you’re the head of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. It’s great that there is a task force, now I ask you and your colleagues to work harder. Maybe you’re all confused because you’ve read that nearly 52% of Americans want to protect gun ownership, according to a Pew Survey. I could see that you’d be worried that you all would alienate many Americans and it could affect your re-election campaigns. I know the more you all come out strong against gun control, the more it feeds money into the juggernaut that funds campaigns for your opponents. But maybe it’s time to say screw it and not rely on projected polls. Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about political outcomes. Maybe it’s time that you and your colleagues on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force keep at the task of enacting common sense gun laws at a Federal level. You could try to work on a narrative that still allows some Americans, perhaps those that have passed very strict background checks, for example, the right to own a gun. There is a middle ground as I see it. Personally, I’d like to see all guns eliminated from our society, there are other countries who have accomplished this without impacting freedom. But, I see the value in compromise. And right now we aren’t even compromising, or making any change.

I thought that the slaughter of 20 innocent children, and the destruction of a whole town’s soul, or dare I say our country’s soul, would have kept the momentum going. I watched the emotional pleas of the families who lost their dear children, the future lifeblood of our country, and I was so sure that we’d make some headway. But we didn’t, and I feel that we have let those children down. I feel like a fraud every time I tell my daughter she doesn’t have to worry about a shooting. I feel that I can’t speak out about my position because more and more people are beginning to get comfortable with the idea that protection of the 2nd Amendment trumps the safety and health of our nation. My anti-gun position has become a left-wing, libtard rant that has no merit. Every time there is a mass shooting all that happens is that we just numb ourselves because we can’t handle the idea that this IS the new normal. We live in a gun-toting country that allows the slaughter of parishioners in a church and a temple. We live in a country that allows families to be murdered watching a movie. And most despicable of all, we are no different than countries like Nigeria where terrorists target schools filled with children.

Please be a leader, rally the force of our voices. You aren’t hearing us speak out as much because we are lost, saddened and yes confused. Lead the way, it’s what you’re meant to do! If you need us to march the streets or sign millions of pages of petitions to pass the legislation that your task force has already written, we will! I felt compelled to write you before another mass shooting, or another gun battle erupts in the inner city streets, or another police shooting. Because my biggest fear is that I will also shut down and lose my will to speak out. I plan to share this on my social media channels as well. Hopefully, it can ignite others to write you and prove that we’re willing to stand against gun violence.

Sincerely,

Anita