By Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth

On Thursday morning we woke up to news of yet another mass shooting—this one very close to home in Lewiston, Maine. My heart goes out to the victims, the survivors, and their families.

No one should have to live in fear of shopping at the grocery store, attending a religious service, going to a concert, enjoying a night at at a bar or club, sending their kids to school, or dropping their kids off at a youth bowling league. And no one should have to suffer in agony from the effects of grievous wounds caused by weapons of war used on them by bad actors for the unforgivable crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Despite what 2nd Amendment absolutists will say, we absolutely do have the power to change this.  But the question, as always, is whether or not we have the will, the courage, and the perseverance to not only demand change, but to work tirelessly within our democratic system to ensure that the needed changes finally happen.

Here’s a cold, hard fact: Simply outsourcing your activism to elected officials like me won’t get it done.

Here are two more cold, hard facts: “Thoughts and prayers” also aren’t getting it done, and neither is arguing with people on social media.

In the end what finally will get it done and bring about needed changes in our laws is a tidal wave of focused, long-term demand for change from citizens like you that elected officials can’t ignore or deride because the cost will be losing their seats and their power.

As a die-hard pragmatist, I’d be the first to admit that changing our laws won’t prevent all gun violence. But there are sensible steps we can and should take to reduce the risk and to reduce our nation’s shameful level of carnage.

Universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders that can remove weapons to people who are a danger to themselves and to others, three day waiting periods, gun-free school safety zones, assault weapons bans, ghost gun bans, high capacity magazine bans, tougher safe storage requirements, and changes to liability laws for gun manufacturers are all changes that New Hampshire has yet to make. Meanwhile, the few changes to our gun laws that have been made in recent years—such as legalizing concealed carry without the need for a permit—have only increased the risk of gun violence.

For me, I’m almost ashamed to say that getting involved in this issue at a personal level took the massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

For others, it’s taken a personal connection—the senseless death of a friend, a neighbor, or a close relative.

But the question many more of us need to be asking ourselves right now isn’t “what will it take for me?”

It’s “what can I do right now and in the days and years to come to get involved in this issue and be part of the change?”

We don’t have to live like this. But for meaningful change to take place, the hard truth is many more people will have to make a personal decision to make this fight their fight too.

Instead of fretting about whether it’s “too soon”, many more of us simply need to jump in before, once again, it is too late.

Rep. David Meuse