Debbie Mucarsel-Powell: “Today is a very difficult day for south Florida and for my community. One year ago, we lost 17 innocent lives at Marjory…”

“Today is a very difficult day for south Florida and for my community. One year ago, we lost 17 innocent lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland. The pain of the family and friends of those we lost does not go away. I know. I lost my father to gun violence. Shortly after the tragedy at Parkland, I met with the parents of the students who lost their lives. All you want to do is find a way to take away their pain, but you can't. You can listen to them, share their story, hold their hand, but you can't take away their pain. When I spoke with parents like Regina Talabert, Romania Duque, Manny, Patricia, and other concerned Floridians, I made a promise that I would not stop until we changed our country's gun laws. I want to be able to continue to look at those parents, those students, and all of those who have lost a loved one to gun violence and tell them that I will do everything that I can to prevent another tragedy from happening. We cannot wait for another mass shooting, so I want to say that I am so proud of my colleagues that we passed H.R. 8 yesterday on the floor. We can work together to prevent another Parkland. ____________________”