Yesterday, the Universal Background Check bill was defeated in Olympia. Though it had bipartisan support, it ultimately fell victim to petty politics.

Those politics trumped the will of the people and the safety of our communities. We want to thank the dozens of legislators, especially Representatives Jamie Pederson (D-Seattle) and Mike Hope (R-Mill Creek), who worked so hard to strengthen our gun laws.

The people of Washington are clear in their desire to safeguard our families and communities, and their voices will be heard. We continue to stand with the 8 in 10 Washington voters who want to see universal background checks passed into law.

We are disappointed but we are undaunted.

This is a stark reminder that for too long one special interest has dominated the debate on this issue. No longer. We are not going away. This is only the beginning of our work to bring people together and pursue commonsense solutions.

The most important thing we can do now is build the movement. Please share our website with your family and friends and ask them to sign up.