Bryan Olin Dozier—NurPhoto/Reuters

Shannon Watts has taken up the mantle of gun-safety advocacy with the hope that in a generation, this uniquely American crisis will be an appalling relic of the past.

In 2012, after 20 first-graders had been gunned down in their school, she started Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. It is now one of the largest grassroots organizations in the nation. After my son, Jordan, was murdered at 17 by an act of gun violence, it was Shannon who encouraged me to share my story. She knows the power that a mother’s love has to change a devastating status quo.

Now, change is happening. For the first time in nearly three decades, a meaningful gun-safety package became law, and now more than a hundred gun-safety candidates have been elected.

It is an honor to work alongside her as we create a safer country for future generations and for the American people.

McBath, a Democrat, is a U.S. Representative for Georgia and a former spokesperson for Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety

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