Before moving on to a message from Lucy McBath, a congressional representative from Georgia,I want to share the news that my newest book, Evelyn Evolving, is available in paperback at Amazon. The e-book is still on pre-order, awaiting the final digital formatting, and it will be sent to Kindles all over the place on May 19th. I am thrilled that so many people pre-ordered the book and took it to the #1 new release spot several times over the past few weeks.
Wouldn’t this book make a terrific Mother’s Day gift? Just a thought. 🙂
This message from Lucy McBath popped up in my e-mail on Tuesday. I get quite a few missives from Democrats, probably because I supported Beto O’Rourke in the 2018 Senate race. Now the Democratic party thinks I’m one of them, and I have to keep reminding folks that I am not. I don’t hold to any political party affiliation.
That said, there are some messages, and some candidates, that strike a chord with me, and Lucy’s story did just that. The following is pretty much the gist of her message, minus the many requests for donations. If you would like to donate to her political campaign, or to the Democratic Party, I’ll provide a link at the end of this blog post.
“Yesterday, the NRA President accused me of only winning my race because I’m a black woman:
I have a message for the NRA! Let me clear something up.
I won this race because — after my son was senselessly murdered in 2012 — I stood up to do something about it. I ran for Congress to bring the voice of gun violence prevention advocates to Washington, and to make sure no other families have to go through the pain that our family has.
In 2012, I was just another Georgia mom. I worked for Delta. I loved my son Jordan more than anything else in this world. Then Jordan was shot and killed at age 17 because he and his friends were playing their music out loud at a gas station.
After Jordan was murdered — I realized that nobody was going to change our gun laws for us, and I got to work as an advocate to carry on his legacy.
After Jordan was ripped away from me, I did not stop being a mom. Working as a gun violence prevention advocate, running for Congress, and serving in Washington — I’ve done them all out of the love that I have for my son and my community.
I have faced attack after attack from the far right — but that hasn’t stopped my work for families of Georgia’s 6th District. It hasn’t stopped my determination to make our country a better and safer place for our families.
But our race was one of the closest in the country. When all the votes were counted, we won by just a hair. 3,264 votes separated me and my GOP opponent, Karen Handel. And she’s already running again in 2020, to try and take this seat back for the GOP.
The House has already passed gun safety legislation for the first time in decades, and there is much more to come.
My work on gun violence, healthcare, and many other issues is just starting.
And yes — as a woman of color, I am proud to be part of the most diverse class in American history.
My experiences drive the work I am doing for my constituents. And nobody can take that away from me.
I miss my son every day. He’s the reason I’m fighting so hard to end senseless gun violence. No mother should face this sort of pain.
We can win this battle, but we have to stand united. The NRA has thousands of big-money donors and super PACs, but I have a grassroots army of supporters.
Rep. Lucy McBath
P.S. the NRA said I only won my hard-fought race because I’m a black woman, but we won this race because I stood up after my son was murdered by gun violence. We can send a strong message to the NRA – that you have my back – bu supporting my campaign.
I shared the email from Ms. McBath because I think it’s absurd that people insist, and truly believe, that a person wins a political race because of their gender or the color of their skin. What do you think? Do you vote because of gender, or race, or religion? If people are focused on those things when it comes to voting, do they even think about the issues?