I am heartbroken and enraged.

There have been more than 2,150 mass shootings since Sandy Hook, claiming the lives of thousands of Americans.

Today President Trump spoke to the American public and, with absolutely zero self-awareness about his role perpetuating a culture of white nationalist hate on the Internet, managed to blame everything EXCEPT guns for the tragic mass shootings this weekend or the rash of mass shootings that came before these.

No more talk. This is an emergency and we need action now.

My heart goes out to El Paso, Dayton, Brooklyn and Gilroy - four mass shootings just in the past two weekends, claiming the lives of dozens of Americans and forever shaping the lives of their families, loved ones, and communities.

In South Florida we know this pain. The impact of shootings in Parkland, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale are still present in our communities every day. Our state has had nearly 150 mass shootings since 2013.

My Democratic colleagues and I have been working to advance common sense gun reform legislation in the U.S. House that would save people’s lives, and to hold the Trump administration accountable for failing to seriously address and combat the rise in white supremacist violence and extremism.

• The President needs to treat white supremacist violence like the crisis it is. He has tacitly given white supremacists and hateful, violent bigots permission to come out from the shadows and act on their hatred.
  
  
• Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must call the Senate back into session immediately, and pass the life-saving gun reform legislation which is idly sitting in his chamber.

Senator McConnell has gleefully called himself a "Grim Reaper" for refusing to take up bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. He tweeted a photo joking about being a "grim reaper" hours after the El Paso shooting. I am offended and outraged by this callous indifference to the real pain that families of victims are enduring right now.

We need the Senate and White House to immediately address these threats to the lives and well-being of Americans. We must take bold action to arrest this vicious cycle of violence.

I’m going to continue to use my vote and my voice to put as much pressure as I can on the United States Senate.

I have met with the families of victims of gun violence. I will honor their loved ones with action. I will not be intimidated by the NRA or anyone else who tries to stand in our way. Protecting the lives of our families, friends, and neighbors is simply too important and too long overdue.