We, the undersigned parents and guardians of Minnesota’s children, are calling upon our state legislators to take urgent and decisive action during the upcoming special session on gun violence to ban the manufacture, sale, and possession of assault weapons and high capacity magazines in the state of Minnesota.

Too many lives have been lost to senseless gun violence in MN, including the two children lost recently in the Annunciation School Shooting in Minneapolis. As parents, we send our children to school, places of worship, parks and other public spaces with a sense of fear. A fear that grows with each school shooting and is becoming all too common in our society. Assault weapons, military-style firearms designed for rapid killing, have no place in our neighborhoods, schools, or communities where our children live, play and learn.

These weapons of war have been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in our country’s history. They are not tools for self-defense or hunting; they are tools of devastation. Allowing them to remain accessible endangers our children, families, educators, first responders, and the very fabric of our communities.

We are not asking for the impossible, we are asking for common sense. Minnesota has the power to lead the nation in protecting its most vulnerable citizens. We urge you to:

1. Pass legislation that bans the sale, transfer, manufacture, and possession of assault weapons and high capacity magazines in Minnesota.

2. Invest in community safety and violence prevention programs.

3. Enact stronger background check laws and close loopholes that put weapons into dangerous hands.

In turn, we will support MN legislators that are helping protect our children by actively advocating and voting for a ban on assault weapons and other measures that will safeguard our children. Conversely, we pledge to VOTE OUT any MN legislator that takes campaign contributions from the NRA and/or works against an assault weapon ban or other common sense gun reform initiatives that parents of MN school children are asking for.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral imperative. We are united as parents—across the cities and towns of Minnesota, and across all political beliefs—in saying that enough is enough.

The safety of our children should not be up for debate.

Sincerely,