b"COMMUNITYWe've Had EnoughBy Senator Rhonda Fields As you can imagine, I was shaken.china cabinet. oflivinginconstantfearofgun AsamotherofasonlosttogunIknowthatmanyothersinmyviolence,wonderingifmyfriends, violence,thosesameemotions,familyorImightbethenextvic-community feel similarly. In recent O neeveninglastmonth,Ithesamefear,wasimmediatelymonths, Aurora has been rocked bytim. I will continue to stand up to returned home after a long daybrought back to the surface. Its aafrighteningincreaseinterruptgunviolence of lawmaking at the State Capitol todifficult thing to feel unsafe sittingingunviolenceinci- in our community and find one of my front windows shat- inyourlivingroom,wonderingifdents.Ournightlystate. We must begin to tered.Astraybulletfromadrive- tonight might be the night that younews is a near constantaddress the underlying byshootinghadgonethroughmywill be in the exact wrong place atstreamofaddressestrauma so often woven window, hit a china cabinet in mythe wrong time. Wondering whetherwhereashootingtookinto gun violence in our living room, and damaged the wallthatstraybulletmightmakecon- place, a daily recap ofneighborhoods.behind it. tactwithsomethingotherthanaviolence inflicted in ourSince being elected to neighborhoods. serveintheColorado Justthisweek,GeneralAssemblyin DenverEastHigh2011, I have dedicated School suffered its sec- myselftoworkingon ondshootinginonlypoliciestobuildsafer six weeks. Last month, Luis Garciacommunitiesforall.Followingthe was shot and killed in his car justAuroratheatershooting,Ispon-outside of the school. Now, two fac- soredabilltobanhigh-capaci-ultymembershavebeenhospital- tymagazines,andjusttwoyears izedafterastudentattheschoolago, after the Boulder King Soopers shot them. Enough is enough.Ourshooting, I worked to establish the children, teens, teachers, and staffOffice of Gun Violence Prevention in deservetofeelsafeintheircom- Colorado. These are just a few of the munities and classrooms free frommany steps we have taken to inter-gun violence and fear. Lets begin byrupt and reduce gun violence in our prioritizingpeopleandoptimizingstate, but there is so much more we their psychological safety. can do.Theepidemicofgunviolence,This year, I am working with my gunshotvictimizationandbulletscolleaguesintheStateSenateon in bodies must stop. I am tired ofapackageofbillsthatwillhelp hearingthesereports.IamtiredContinued on Page 1410 APRIL 2023 BOCNEWS.com"