Thread by @ChrisMurphyCT

THREAD: Today marks one year since the House passed #HR8, a bill requiring a background check for every gun sale.

In the year Mitch McConnell has refused a vote in the Senate, 40,000 people have been shot and killed.

I want you to hear a few of their stories. It's important.

2/ In March 2019, 1 month after #HR8 got to the Senate, Shelby Verderosa was home with her six-month-old daughter when she was shot and killed in Phoenix. As a new mom Shelby "was doing everything she possibly could to make sure her daughter had the best life," said her cousin.

3/ Lamar Sharp was at a picnic in Kansas City in April, two months after #HR8 got to the Senate, when he heard gunshots. Instead of running toward safety, he ran to save his friend's two-year-old grandson and was shot three times. He died five days before his 32nd birthday.

4/ In May, 3 months after #HR8 got to the Senate, three LGBTQ+ young people were shot in Detroit. Alunte Davis, Timothy Blancher & Paris Cameron were known for being funny and charismatic. Police believe their sexual orientation and gender identity were factors in their murders.

5/ Durelle Moxley was killed on Father's Day in Louisville, 4 months after #HR8 passed, when a shooting broke out in his neighborhood. Durelle and his wife had 3 young kids. His friend said, "He was really proud to be a father. He was pumped to be celebrating Father's Day."

6/ In July, 5 months after #HR8 was sent to Mitch McConnell's desk, Julianna Carr was killed by her brother in a murder-suicide at a housewarming party in Katy, TX. Julianna left behind a husband and two kids who she called her "greatest loves."

7/ Jurnee Thompson was just 8 yrs old when she was shot in August, 6 months after #HR8 got to the Senate. She was the 14th child to be shot & killed in St. Louis last summer. Her Dad said that losing her was "one of the biggest fears of my life & now I'm living it as a reality."

8/ Usher Hanns was 17 when he was shot and killed in September, 7 months after #HR8 got to the Senate. He was a senior at Weaver High School and a member of Hartford’s Proud Drill Drum & Dance Corp. His mom said, “Usher was a good son. He always made me smile. He’s a joyful kid.”

9/ Deirdre Zaccardi was murdered by her husband, Joseph, in Abington, PA in October. He also shot their three children, Alexis, Nathaniel, and Kathryn, before turning the gun on himself. The Abington police chief called their deaths "a horrific event no one should ever see."

10/ 9 months after #HR8 got to the Senate, in November, 15-year-old Gracie Anne Muehlberger was shot by a classmate with a semiautomatic untraceable "ghost gun" in Santa Clarita, CA. Hundreds attended Gracie’s memorial service. Her friends described her as an “independent spirit”

11/ In Dec, Sgt. Chris Brewster was responding to a domestic violence call in Houston, 10 months after #HR8 got to the Senate, when he was shot by a suspect fleeing the scene. He was a devoted husband who loved making people laugh. His friends described him as "wonderfully weird"

12/ In January, Gregory Rieves, was shot and killed in Illinois, 11 months after #HR8 got to the Senate. He had just retired after 22 yrs as a state trooper, a career he called his dream job. His friends described him as "the most gentle, kind-hearted person you could ever know.”

13/ In February, sisters Abbaney and Deja Matts were shot by Abbaney's ex-boyfriend in Deja's dormitory in Commerce, TX. “I just want people to know they were fun,” said their mom. “They were in the church, trying to learn something and do something good for themselves."

14/ And just yesterday in Milwaukee, almost exactly a year since #HR8 came to the Senate, five people were shot on the campus of Molson Coors. People who went to work on a normal Wednesday and whose families will never hug them, or hear their voices, or see them alive again.

15/ These stories are just a fraction of the 40,000 people who are killed by guns in America every year.

We can't prevent every death, but right now we aren't even trying.

Mitch McConnell has #HR8 on his desk, and he won't even bring it up for a vote.

16/ Every day, every month, every year we fail to pass meaningful gun violence prevention legislation, the body count rises.

There is blood on our hands.

We need #BackgroundChecksNow