Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell

I never desired or sought after political office. That all changed June 20, 2016 when a young promising star basketballer was shot; he died a few days later. I declared my candidacy on June 27, 2016 and immediately began knocking on doors.

My message was simple, we need to pass good common sense gun control, dismantle the school to prison pipeline and pass a living wage of $15 an hour.

The fight continues. On September 14, 2016 at 9:58 AM, the day after I won the election that almost every political pundit thought I wouldn’t win, a young man wrote on Facebook, “Tell ya mom let’s get it…….I’m getting a job.” A few months ago, this 21 year old was shot to death.

I will enter my second year in the legislature with a new determination to end joblessness that I firmly believe is linked to gun violence and homicide. We can’t live this, we can’t continue to lose some of our most promising and brightest young people to gun violence. And, yes, gun violence is preventable.