The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Victim’s Families Unite on the STOP School Violence Act

UPDATED 23-Mar-2018: All families have now had an opportunity to sign the letter. See updated link below.Once again, the families of the victims of the senseless violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School unite in support of legislation to improve school safety and ensure this time will be different! #STOPSchoolViolenceAct

Once again, the families of the victims of the senseless violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School unite in support of legislation to improve school safety and ensure this time will be different! #STOPSchoolViolenceAct

March 16, 2018

The Honorable Senator Mitch McConnell
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Senator Chuck Schumer
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Representative Paul Ryan
H-232, The US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Representative Nancy Pelosi
H-204, The US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senators McConnell & Schumer, Representatives Ryan & Pelosi,

We are the families of the victims killed in the tragedy in Parkland, FL on February 14, 2018. We strongly urge you to support the inclusion of the STOP School Violence Actand the Fix NICS ACTin the upcoming Omnibus spending bill to be debated and ultimately voted on in both chambers.

At the Federal level the STOP School Violence Actis a first step in a long journey to improve the safety of our children and teachers at school. This Act will make schools safer by funding the creation of and providing training for Threat Assessment Teams (TATs), teachers and students. It also includes security measures and provides for the creation of anonymous reporting systems. All of which will help make schools safer.

The Fix NICS Actis desperately needed to improve compliance with firearms purchasing background check systems which are already in place. These are systems that all US citizens rely on to keep firearms away from those that should not be allowed to purchase them.

Frankly, much more needs to be done to prevent mass murder from ever again occurring at any school. This issue cannot wait. The moment to consider these key pieces of legislation is now.

We must be the last families to suffer the loss of a loved one due to a mass shooting at a school. We demand more action to keep our schools safe.

This Time Must Be Different!

Respectfully,

Lori Alhadeff, Max Schachter, Ryan & Kelly Petty, Linda Beigel Schulman, Fred Guttenberg, Damian and Denise Loughran, Manuel and Patricia Oliver, Mitch Dworet, Jennifer and Tony Montalto, Kong Feng Wang and Peter Wang, Andrew Pollack, Tom and Geena Hoyer, Vincent and Anne Ramsay, Miguel Duque, Debbi Hixon, April Schentrup, and Melissa Feis

Originally published at www.ryanpetty.com on March 19, 2018.