This page talks about suicide, gun violence, and my mother's death. If you are struggling, please reach out first. Call or text 988, any hour.
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Most conversations focus on mass shootings. The majority of gun deaths are something else entirely.
Common sense.
Practical. Possible.
Let me be clear about what I believe, because people assume.
I do not believe in gun bans. An outright ban is not a real thing and it is never going to happen, so I would rather spend my energy on what is possible.
Universal background checks on every sale, including private ones. Wisconsin does not require a background check for a private sale, and a lot of guns are sold that way.
A red flag law that lets a family member temporarily remove guns from someone at their lowest, like my mom was.
And not just suicides, or the street violence you see on TV. Unintentional child shootings, school shootings, mass shootings, all of it. Common sense, practical policy that can become law and save the most lives across every kind of gun violence.
The help is the hard part to reach, and the gun is the easy part. That is backwards.
The causes I keep
showing up for.
Gun violence prevention
About 6 in 10 gun deaths in this country are suicides. My mother died by firearm suicide when I was 22 months old, and I am an Everytown for Gun Safety Wisconsin Fellow. This is the work I will never walk away from.
Mental health and asking for help
I have attempted suicide three times. I have called the 988 lifeline more than once. I am still here, and I say that out loud so someone else knows asking for help is not weakness.
Reproductive rights
I served as Board President of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin C4 from 2021 to 2024. I ran for Congress on women's reproductive rights.
Democracy and the electors case
In December 2020 I cast Wisconsin's electoral votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I got death threats for it. In 2022 I sued the ten Republican fake electors and the two lawyers who advised them, in Dane County. They settled in December 2023 and acknowledged Biden won. Like I said that day: "No matter what shenanigans or antics the opposition throws at us, we were going to exercise our constitutional responsibility."
Leadership and the trades
Nearly 30 years in construction, from installing roofs at 18 to running $35 million in annual revenue with 180 people. Same playbook every time: build the team, fix the systems, deliver the work.
On the record
Where I have said this, in public, with dates and sources.
- 2012Got involved with Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. Became a local spokesperson and started testifying at the local and state level.
UWM gun violence oral history - Nov 7, 2016
Doesn't tell me what her favorite color is. Doesn't tell me that she loved me.
On her death certificate, to Wisconsin Public Radio.
WPR - Nov 8, 2016Lost the race for Congress, Wisconsin's 5th district, to Jim Sensenbrenner, 260,706 votes to 114,477, 29.3 percent.
Wikipedia, citing the state canvass - Jun 2017 to Jun 2023Elected DNC Representative for Wisconsin, and served on the executive board of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
Wikipedia - May 31, 2017Appeared against Wisconsin Senate Bill 169, a concealed carry bill, at the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing.
Wisconsin Legislature record - Oct 12, 2017Wrote for TIME: "What I Learned From My Mother's Suicide."
TIME - Jun 16, 2018
- Dec 14, 2020Served as a Biden elector, casting Wisconsin's electoral votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Wisconsin Examiner, via Milwaukee Independent - May 2022, Dec 2023Filed Penebaker v. Hitt against the ten Republican fake electors and the two lawyers who advised them. They settled in December 2023 and acknowledged Biden won.
Law Forward, the filing Law Forward, the settlement - 2021 to 2024Board President, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin C4.
Store it locked. Store it separate.
A gun in the home is more likely to be used on yourself or someone you love than on an intruder. Store firearms locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. A red flag law gives someone at their lowest the time and space to get help before that access matters. If you are in crisis, or worried about someone who is, reach out before anything else.
It is personal, and it is why I keep showing up.
If you want to understand where it comes from, the whole story is in my own words.