WINTER PARK — Tonight, Orlando-area entrepreneur and Democratic candidate for governor Chris King issued the following statement on Mass Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School:
“On days like this, prayers are not enough. Thoughts are not enough. Our broken hearts are not enough. For too many families in Florida tonight, no time will go by to heal this wound. And there will be no ‘moment’ when it is right to address this crisis if we continue to allow these shootings day after day, week after week, month after month.
“Since 2010, there have been 13 school shootings in the state of Florida. Today marks the fourteenth.
“We are told by politicians that debates over gun laws are debates over freedom. I think there is no freedom when a mother cannot drop off her son at school without fearing it could be the last time she sees him.
“We are told that any loss of American life is unacceptable. If any loss really is too much, then letting mass shootings occur without any action is an unforgivable dereliction of a government’s sacred duty to protect its citizens.
“We have failed, completely, to enact meaningful legislation to prevent mass shootings in this decade. This is an epidemic the United States suffers in a way no other developed country on earth does.
“Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. I am reminded tonight of these words from President Kennedy: ‘With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.’
“There are commonsense steps we can take that would keep weapons out of dangerous hands. It’s time to act.”
