Last week, I was lucky enough to go on a life-changing trip to the White House. I’d never spent any time at all on Capitol Hill in my life, aside from attending marches and protests alongside my parents as a small child and teen. Over the years, I haven’t been a stranger to activism. One Google of my Mother and Stepfather, and you can see that they’ve been voicing their opinions and standing up for the issues they believe in their entire adult lives. I was raised to understand that standing for something is important, and finding causes or movements that matter deeply to you is a crucial part of contributing to society. As a Mom, I’ve found my own activism to be quieter in recent years. Having small children, I had convinced myself that “in-person” causes were too intimidating or time-consuming, and I had been opting instead to share my message on my platform, and to donate to causes I believe in that need my help. I still believe that the world needs all kinds of activists and organizers: the ones who help plan, the ones who raise money, the ones who give money, the ones who amplify others’ voices, the ones who inform themselves so deeply and completely that they can be a resource to others, and the ones who show up in person to give a voice and a face to a cause. Each of these roles is crucial to any movement.

And, yet, as I have watched our gun violence epidemic grow so swiftly and devastatingly over the last five years, it has made me desperate for a solution. Quite frankly, any one of us can be shot at any time. If you’re living a life where you are going to school, attending church, shopping at a grocery store or mall, going to see a movie, or just interacting in any space outside of your home– you are in danger in the United States Of America. People die from gun violence most days of the year. Let that sink in. As I have sat at home and watched the coverage of incessant School Shootings, I think about my children and the heartbreaking avoidability of the violence that has ripped so many babies from their parents’ arms. There is nothing more infuriating than imagining innocent children (and teachers!) experiencing fear, pain, and violence in a space where they should feel only safe and nurtured. There is nothing that makes me more sick to my stomach than a parent losing their child in this way. And how did we get here?

That’s where my relationship with March Fourth comes in. I am not a politician, a political science expert, or even a policy expert of any kind. I have my opinions, of course, but I have such a fraction of the complete picture on issues like this. That’s why, over the last couple of years as I watched so many mass shootings taking place in our country, I found myself drawn to the work and message that March Fourth promotes. March Fourth is a bipartisan, grassroots advocacy organization formed with a singular mission: to reinstate the federal ban on assault weapons. It was started two days after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Within days, a team of dedicated and passionate volunteers joined forces to create the organization and plan a peaceful march in Washington, D.C. that same week. With over 90 volunteers behind the scenes, over 500 people joined in to march on our nation’s capitol on July 13, 2022. The group included survivors from Highland Park and Uvalde, Texas along with tens of thousands of virtual supporters.

I remember seeing the organization’s activism and being struck by two things: how bipartisan it was in nature (both Republicans and Democrats support the organization passionately), and also how they have focused on one thing and one thing alone: to create more safety in this country by passing the GOSAFE Act, which would reinstate a federal assault weapons ban. I was one of many people who did not realize that our country HAD this law in place until September 13th, 2004. And this law worked. Ever since the assault weapons ban expired, we have seen so many civilians, who have absolutely no need for a weapon of war, using these guns to enact mass murder on innocent people. Casualties from gun violence have gone up exponentially to the point that gun violence is now the number one killer of children in our nation, and it is also the number one cause of newly handicapped Americans.

The truth is that AR-15 guns were not created for hunting. They are not necessary to own privately. And the other, more sobering truth, is that 67% of Americans believe this as well, and support a ban on assault weapons. You can see from this number how bipartisan this cause truly is. After two years of following and supporting March Fourth from afar, I was intrigued and honored when they reached out to invite me to lobby with them on Capitol Hill. The goal? To create as many new cosponsors of GOSAFE as possible in honor of the 20 year anniversary of the assault weapons ban expiring. Saying “Yes” to this experience has completely changed my perspective in so many ways.

Going into the experience, I really didn’t know what to expect. We planned to meet in the lobby of a hotel at 9 am to “Speed Lobby” by talking to members of Congress one after another and urging them to cosponsor the GOSAFE Act. Next was a tour of the White House (!!!), and directly after was a briefing with The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention on what is being done to reduce gun violence in our country. The Lobbying aspect of the day was absolutely what I was most nervous about. I was so intimidated and imagined it to be a really overwhelming or cold experience. What it actually was could not have been more different. First of all, I was immediately struck by the warmth and magic I felt meeting all of the other March Fourth volunteers. Everyone had gathered from near and far, with vastly different backgrounds, to support this one cause we all feel passionately about. It was such an incredible unifier, and the most beautiful reminder that the details of people’s lives can be so different, yet we can all seek that common seed of purpose together. While I have never owned a firearm, and would never want to, I was joined on the hill by women who had grown up hunting with their fathers, or who were responsible gun owners themselves. While I’ve always tried to find common ground with people different than me, it was a real eye-opener to learn more about the very different faces of the fight for gun control and gun safety in our country.

Once we got to the halls of Congress, I was met with my next surprise: anybody can visit there at any time. I had imagined that you had to know somebody important to get a meeting with the people responsible for running our country. I was absolutely shocked to find out that our representatives are always available to us. I am well aware that the term “public office” was clearly completely lost on me, but I know I’m not the only one who didn’t realize how, well…DEMOCRATIC our government is. We had GOSAFE Act literature in our hands, and we began with our own state representatives and moved through the halls speaking with as many people as possible and handing out information. I was struck by how quickly the nerves dissipated, and we all became so adept at strongly and briefly communicating our mission to the aides we encountered.

After opening with our names, and a few words about why reinstating the assault weapon ban was important to us, we urged each representative to cosponsor and support the GOSAFE Act. Wandering the halls between meetings, I was blown away by how elegant and how suspended in time everything felt. Marble floors and ornate wooden doors holding countless memories and legacies. So much history happening in real-time behind each door. The mood was so much more casual that I was expecting. I watched so many different people of all different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and religions walking in their purposes quite simply down those halls…and making an impact on our nation’s future. For the first time in my entire life, I realized something that will stick with me forever: any person can change anything.

That point was driven home even more when I spoke to the Survivors of shootings who had joined us that day. I knew that there were going to be Survivors present, but actually meeting them, and their loved ones, was deeply moving and the aspect of this trip that will stick with me the most. Surviving gun violence is just not something that you move on from. Ever. Losing a loved one or child to gun violence changes you as a person. Watching these family members walking in their grief and tirelessly focusing on creating change for OUR children was the most humbling experience. I will never forget our conversations, or the bravery and compassion they showed that day.

After lunch, we moved on to our White House tour. This was a bucket list experience for me and not something I ever thought I would be able to do. We’ve all seen the White House countless times in photographs or on television, and it was beyond surreal to be so close to it. Even before we entered the security lines to “the house”, I was shocked by how close pedestrians are to it at any given time. We did a tour of the East Wing, which was led by a member of the Secret Service who is actually a certified White House Historian. I loved hearing all of the stories about the many public and private experiences that happened in each room. The funniest thing was how these iconic rooms (that have been the backdrop for our Nation’s history) have also held boxing matches, ladies’ night out, roller rink birthday parties, and wedding receptions. There is so much life in those walls that you can feel the air buzzing with it. Hearing about the portraits and art throughout the home was another incredible history lesson. I loved how beautifully history is preserved, with a nod to the future throughout the home. And everything has a great little sense of humor. We were handed a box of White House-branded Hershey Kisses with the President’s signature on them as we were leaving, and I just about died. I took full advantage of the gift shop on premises (HELLOOOO!) and got the kids official Presidential Seal water bottles in cute colors, a Presidential Seal mug, and an “official” 2024 Christmas ornament.

Next, we walked across the street, within the White House complex, to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building where we had a briefing with the White House Office Of Gun Violence Prevention. The Office of Gun Violence Prevention is overseen by Vice President Harris, who has been a key leader in the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to end our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Stefanie Feldman, a longtime policy advisor to President Biden on gun violence prevention, serves as Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, alongside leading gun violence prevention advocates Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, who joined the Administration as Deputy Directors of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The office has been in existence for less than a year, and yet they have made so much progress. We were all so inspired to hear from Greg and Rob, who are driven by so much light and energy as they navigate this extremely dark crisis. I was relieved to hear about Red Flag laws they have implemented in many states that serve to vastly reduce gun deaths, especially in cases of domestic violence. I was also interested to hear about the work they are doing to implement a gun violence emergency response system in towns to support communities impacted by mass shootings. Overall, it was heartening just to hear that there are things that this office can do on a state and local level, and actions they can take, even if they can’t rely on Congress to pass the GOSAFE Act.

I think we all left that meeting extremely impassioned to do what we each can to change the gun violence epidemic. At the very least, it is clear that as helpless as we can all feel in the hours and days following a mass shooting, there is actually so much we CAN do to make our voices heard. Most importantly, the majority of Americans WANT more safety. The day after our lobbying in Congress, 10 more members of Congress Cosponsored the GOSAFE Act!! It works!

If you’re like me, and feeling overwhelmed by the realities of gun violence in America, I urge you to get involved. If that means donating, go for it! If that means calling your representatives, DO IT! Even better, show up and meet the challenge face-on. Passing the assault weapons ban is going to depend on the people in power recognizing that we have had enough, and hearing it directly from us. This is not only a problem for us, but an emergency. As a newbie at all of this, I can tell you firsthand that it is the most empowering feeling to be taking your future into your own hands!

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