Today marks the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, the deadliest school shooting in our nation’s history. Twelve years ago, on a college campus not too different from Iowa State, 32 students were killed and many others were gravely injured.

And yet, over a decade later, what action have our elected officials taken to prevent a similar tragedy?

Nothing.

Since the slaughter at Virginia Tech in 2007, guns have killed 122 people on college campuses. Since 20 small children were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, there have been over 2,000 other mass shootings. Since 17 high schoolers were killed in Parkland, in 2018, 1,200 kids have been killed by gun violence. Every single year over 20,000 people die by suicide with a gun.

And yet, many of our elected officials refuse to take any action to prevent these devastating losses.

More than 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks, but last month the Republican-controlled US Senate refused to even consider a bill passed out of the Democrat-controlled House that would have closed the background check loophole (H.R.8). This includes Iowa’s own Sen. Joni Ernst, who’s position on gun reform is not surprising in light of the $3.1 million the NRA has poured into her campaigns.

The scope of this crisis demands decisive action. Despite the death toll of their inaction, Iowa Republicans like Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley and Steve King refuse to consider policies that have effectively ended mass shootings in countries like Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The thoughts and prayers of Sen. Ernst and her fellow Republican obstructionists are not enough, and have never been enough to protect us. Blinded by their mega-donors, and busy appeasing gun industry lobbyists, they ignore intense human suffering and the overwhelming will of the American people. They refuse to act — so we will.

On November 3, 2020, we will elect the bold, compassionate leaders America needs.

Over the next 568 days until election day, join us in organizing our community, talking to our fellow students, and registering thousands of new voters. The Virginia Tech massacre will forever persist as a dark stain in our history, but change is coming — whether Ernst, Grassley and King are ready for it or not.