The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility issued the following statement from Executive Director Renée Hopkins  following yesterday’s mass shootings in California and Georgia:

In the wake of the 354th and 355th mass shootings in America this year, our entire team mourns with the families and survivors whose lives have been changed forever by our country’s continued gun violence crisis. We are also grateful to the hundreds of law enforcement who responded swiftly to resolve these incidents.

They are doing their job – now it’s time for our leaders to do theirs.

As the facts of the deadliest mass shooting since Sandy Hook come to light, they will only underscore the fact that our country’s weak gun laws make it far too easy for people with deadly intent to obtain firearms.

More-than-daily mass shootings is not normal – but it is our reality. Citizens in Washington State and across America are stepping up to make our communities safe from this chaos. They deserve to have elected officials who are partners in this effort.

While stronger gun laws alone will not prevent every incident, we know that laws like we have here in Washington State reduce the rates of gun death and injury. The first steps to addressing our gun violence crisis are clear – yet our leaders who have the ability to enact stronger laws and invest in gun violence research, have made choices again and again not to take them.

The American people have made it abundantly clear that our crisis of gun violence is unacceptable. The need for our leaders and legislatures to heed the will of the people grows more urgent literally with each passing day.