Last week, Senator Kamala Harris came to Seattle to host a roundtable discussion on gun violence prevention. The Senator addressed more than 200 people at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute and opened the event by saying,

[Washington State] has been doing groundbreaking work. And, frankly, your work is a model for not only the smart approach for gun safety, but also the model of courage. Because that’s what we lack in our nation’s capital…There are supposed leaders in Washington DC who have failed to have the courage to reject the false choice which suggests you’re either in favor of the second amendment, or you want to take everyone’s guns away.

We couldn’t agree more.

Senator Harris and local gvp advocates had an open and frank discussion about the causes of – and solutions to – our gun violence epidemic. They talked through issues including suicide, domestic violence, and keeping our schools and communities safe.

See KOMO’s coverage of the event here.

Gun violence prevention has been a major topic of discussion among the presidential hopefuls – proving that politicians have finally caught on that voters want to see commonsense gun laws in place. Whoever clinches the nomination will be expected to take bold action on gun violence prevention if elected and would be wise to look to Washington State for examples of effective policies.

The roundtable also included:

• Attorney General Bob Ferguson;
• Student activist Thomas Koehnlein;
• Suquamish Tribe Treasure Robin Little Wing Sigo;
• American Muslim Empowerment Network Executive Director Annelah Afzali; and
• Puyallup Tribe Chairman David Z. Bean

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–Maureen McGregor is the Strategic Engagement Director at the Alliance.