The Meet & Greet scheduled for Friday, October 21st is being co-hosted by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and Councilmember Kellie Shay Hinze. Since they are both moms, this is a great opportunity to talk more about my distinction as being the only Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate among the four candidates running for Mayor of Encinitas. Here’s a description about what it means:
The Gun Sense Candidate distinction is awarded to candidates by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety. Moms Demand Action is a non-partisan, grassroots movement with more than 10 million supporters nationwide.
After a rigorous application and approval process, the GSC distinction is presented to federal, state and local candidates who have proven their commitment to lifesaving gun laws.
This distinction lets voters know which candidates will stand up for gun safety, if elected to office. Multiple candidates in a race can receive the distinction. The GSC distinction is not an endorsement from Moms or Everytown; rather it is a signal to Moms’ supporters and voters that a candidate will govern with gun safety in mind.
In the months preceding the 2022 election, Moms volunteers nationwide distributed Gun Sense questionnaires to thousands of candidates who applied. In California, the application was sent to more than 1,600 candidates; 500 of whom received the GSC distinction.
Encinitas City Council Member Tony Kranz was awarded the Gun Sense Candidate distinction because of his consistent positions supporting gun safety legislation, including recent Encinitas City Council ordinances. These include the Safe Storage of Firearms Ordinance and the Ghost Guns Ordinance, which bans the possession, sale, manufacture and use of ghost guns in Encinitas.
Very few things have been more disheartening to me politically then the inability of our nation to take meaningful steps to curtail the number of incidents of gun violence, from the tragedies that are suicide by guns to massacres of innocent children in school. Every day, there are countless, senseless acts of violence involving firearms, including one that happened in downtown Encinitas on October 13, 2022. (Fortunately no one was killed in the incident.)
I had the privilege of being part of a “well regulated militia”* when I was a member of the Army National Guard from 1983–1993, which makes me think that the Supreme Court has misinterpreted the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution in critical legal cases. Conversely, I think that the advocacy of groups like Moms Demand Action is making a difference by encouraging elected officials to take prudent legislative steps. The issues are incredibly serious, as they can be a matter of life and death for members of our families, including young children. I will do everything I can as Mayor of Encinitas to give voice to the community in support of their work.