Seattle – Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell released the following statement:
“For the parents and the families, for the classmates and the friends, I send my love and share their grief. Words do not and cannot express the heartbreak and pain this senseless tragedy has caused and will cause, not just today or tomorrow, but for generations.
“It has been nearly a decade since the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary school. Unfortunately, we seem to have learned nothing as a nation since that time. Nothing from Las Vegas and nothing from Charleston. Nothing from Orlando and nothing from El Paso. Now, once again, we are staring down vicious racism in Buffalo and heartbreaking catastrophe at Uvalde, Texas with 18 school children and one teacher murdered, marking the 27th school shooting and 212th mass shooting this year.
“What will it take for Congress to adopt the commonsense gun laws that save lives? How many more of these shootings do we need to endure as a nation until we take action at the federal level and go further at the state level? How much trauma and tragedy are enough?
“In Seattle, we are committed to doing everything we can to prevent gun violence and keep our communities whole. But the truth is, even right here, right now, we cannot take the action we need to take.
“In Washington, because of state preemption, cities are nearly completely prohibited from passing our own laws to keep our communities safe from gun violence. This must change. Cities and towns across our state need to have the freedom to enact laws that reduce gun violence, particularly now as shots fired and shooting deaths are spiking.
“As we mourn with the families affected by this tragedy, we will continue to keep the Robb Elementary School community in our thoughts and prayers. I urge all city residents to unite and show your support for those who are suffering tremendous loss and heartache.
“For our nation and for our state, for our communities and for our kids, today must mean enough is enough.”