We are committed to not having this be
the scenario where another politician
comes up to say never again.
Another person stands in front of a
microphone to announce a horribly tragic
and unspeakable situation where more
family members have been killed.
We are committed to making this time
different.
And we have so many residents around our
city and around our state that are 100%
united to make sure that something like
this doesn't happen again.
Of course, we're standing up with love.
Of course, we're standing up with
thoughts and with prayers.
But thoughts and prayers are not going
to cut it.
It's on all of us to see this through so
that there is an action so that
something like this never happens again.
We need action at the federal level. We
need action at the state level. We need
coordination with the cities around the
country to make sure that every person
has this common foundation of safety
where they can send their kid off to
school and have the confidence that they
will be safe.
Think of these kids not as somebody
else's, but of as your own.
Think of those last words that you had
with your child just this morning before
you sent them into school. You kissed
them on the cheek. You got them set up
with their shoes. You pushed them a
pouch of applesauce. Maybe these were
little annoyances. But the truth is that
there's this common and beautiful thing.
We love our children.
Make these changes not out of hate.
make them out of a simple and beautiful
foundational love for our kids.
And so what are we talking about when we
talk about action? We need to take talk
about the action steps that need to take
place. We need a statewide and a federal
ban on assault weapons.
[Music]
We need a statewide and a federal ban on
highcapacity magazines.
There is no reason that someone should
be able to reel off 30 shots before they
even have to reload.
We're not talking about your father's
hunting rifle here.
We're talking about guns that are built
to pierce armor and kill people. Why do
we have them coming in by the trunk
loads onto our streets around the
country? And this is not just about
Minneapolis.
Because you can buy an assault rifle in
Milwaukee and that assault rifle is in
Minneapolis by noon that very same day.
And so when we talk about the work that
needs to be done, it's going to take a
whole lot of unity from a lot of
different cities. cities and I've gotten
calls from their mayors
who have experienced virtually the same
thing that we experienced yesterday. And
because we love our kids, because we
love our families, because we love our
constituents, we all have the obligation
to act. And what you see here,
you see federal congressw women. You see
our entire or we see our Minneapolis
state delegation. You have council
members from both Minneapolis and St.
Paul. You have our sheriff.
You have Moms Demand Action, Protect
Minnesota
and every town all united and rallying
around a common theme, which is keeping
our cities and our country safe. And
here's the thing.
To the extent
the federal government isn't willing to
do it, to the extent a divided
legislature prevents our state from
acting. And by the way, I know that our
Minneapolis delegation is on board with
this work because they've been doing it.
Thank you.
But here's the final ask.
To the extent other levels of government
are either unwilling or unable to keep
cities safe,
let us do it ourselves.
We are responsible for 435,000
residents that call Minneapolis home and
many more that come and go.
I think we'd be happy to ban assault
rifles here in Minneapolis.
I know we'd be happy to prevent a next
mass shooting from taking place.
We have every obligation, not just to
each other, but to these families that
call Minneapolis home.
We love them. Let's love them with more
than words. Let's love them with the
kind of action that will forever make
the difference for people in our city.
So the next goround, there's not another
city two months from now that is saying
the same damn thing. Let's stop this
from happening. Let's stand up for our
children. Let's stand up for each and
every one of them.
[Applause]