Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

I’m honored to be joining all of you today to help open ATF’s Inaugural Gun Violence Survivors’ Summit.

Today’s discussions and dedication of the Faces of Gun Violence Exhibit this afternoon reflect a deep and abiding commitment by the women and men of the ATF to victims and survivors of gun violence.

I’m grateful to the ATF and to all of you for being here — especially those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Your presence honors their memory and fuels our fight for a better, safer future.

The community gathered today shares a powerful bond.

You are survivors. You are advocates. You are members of law enforcement. You call different places home and you come from different walks of life.

But together, you’re bound by extraordinary courage.

Your lives have been transformed by gun violence – but you are not defined by it.

You share a commitment — to turn your pain into purposeful action — doing everything you can to prevent another family from enduring the same loss.

I just spent some time in the Faces of Gun Violence Exhibit.

These beautiful photos pay tribute to 118 lives cut short by gun violence. 118 individuals. 118 smiles and stories.

They represent a fraction of the vast toll gun violence takes on our country every year.

They are 118 souls who aren’t with us today but who live on in those who loved them most and knew them best.

We stand together in recognition of that profound loss, alongside all those who have been touched by the tragedy of gun violence.

We stand together, in common cause, to end gun violence and its devastation.

And we stand together, undaunted, with resolve and hope for the future.

Now, when it comes to this issue, hope can be hard to hold onto.

Because every day, gun violence continues to devastate families and communities across our nation.

It’s the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers.

And it’s responsible for more than 100 deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty over the past two years.

But there are reasons for hope.

Just look around this room.

Survivors are here today to listen, learn, and tell their stories. Members of law enforcement are also here, as fellow survivors to listen, learn, and tell their stories.

We must come together — we must pull together — as we’re doing today to stop gun violence.