Senator Mark Kelly said Tuesday that recent acts of violence, including a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and a deadly incident in Louisiana, underscore what he described as a broader crisis in the United States, writing that “gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in America” and arguing that stronger action is needed to address it.
In a post published April 28, Kelly reflected on the attempted attack during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend, where a gunman fired shots inside the Washington Hilton before being subdued by law enforcement. According to authorities, the suspect, armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives, rushed a security checkpoint and was intercepted by Secret Service agents as President Donald Trump and other officials were escorted to safety. Kelly described the incident as “an awful thing for our democracy,” adding that he was thankful law enforcement “responded as quickly as they did before this gunman made it any closer to the president, many of his cabinet members, the press corps, and everyone else in that room.”
Kelly used the incident to highlight what he called a broader rise in political violence, writing, “Political violence is a growing problem in our country. It has led to violent acts against Americans and elected officials across the political spectrum. I refuse to accept that this is normal, or that we can’t do anything about it.” He emphasized that while political disagreements remain a defining feature of the country, they have historically been resolved “at the ballot box,” adding that Americans have a “moral and patriotic obligation to condemn political violence” regardless of the target.
The senator also pointed to the personal toll of such violence, referencing both recent and past experiences. He described accounts from journalists at the dinner who were “lying on the ground, texting their loved ones, and fearing for their lives,” and compared those moments to school lockdowns experienced by children across the country. Kelly connected those accounts to his own life, recalling the 2011 shooting of his wife, Gabby Giffords, who was critically injured during an attack in Tucson. “I’ll never forget when my wife, Gabby’s, chief of staff called me… to say Gabby had been shot in the head. That act of violence flipped our world upside down,” he wrote.
Kelly also cited a recent mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, where eight children were killed and two others injured in what he described as a domestic violence incident, calling it “the deadliest mass shooting since January 2024.” He presented these events collectively as evidence of a wider issue, stating that such incidents are not isolated but part of a pattern affecting communities nationwide.
In his post, Kelly directly attributed the prevalence of such violence to what he called “lax firearms laws,” writing that they allow “criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill to get access to guns,” and adding, “It’s just wrong.” He argued that solutions exist, saying, “We know the steps we can take to strengthen gun laws while protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” while maintaining that reducing division and encouraging direct, in-person dialogue among Americans is also necessary.
Kelly and Giffords have been prominent advocates for gun violence prevention since the 2011 shooting, later founding the organization Giffords to promote gun safety legislation. In his latest remarks, Kelly reiterated that change is possible, concluding, “I refuse to accept that this should be normal in America and can’t be changed… If we do that, and we reject the forces that are trying to divide us, everyone, from the president to our kids, will be safer.”