Gun violence prevention is incredibly personal to me, and I have a track record of action. That’s why I’m one of only five candidates for Congress in all of America to be endorsed by the Brady PAC against gun violence. Peter, if you’re with me and believe we need to take action against gun violence, will you chip in today?

At the rally, I wore this T-shirt saying, “Together We Thrive.” Here’s the story behind why I wore that shirt on a chilly Arizona morning and behind my commitment to making a difference when it comes to guns.

Thirteen years ago, on the morning of January 8, 2011, I was driving from Phoenix to Tucson to meet with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She had been my friend for years, but I had mixed emotions about the meeting we were to have that day.

The day before, she had sent what would be her last tweet for a long time endorsing me for Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. It was not a job I had been looking for. I had a new baby girl and a young son at home. I wanted a break from politics.

Then Gabby called. She said the post was one from which I could help bridge divisions and offer new ideas. I still hesitated. And then she said words I can still hear, echoing over the years, “Andrei, sometimes you don’t get to choose the way in which you’ll serve.”

And I said yes.

That morning, as I was driving to meet with Gabby, I got a frantic call from my wife, who was down in Tucson with our kids at a coffee shop across from the shopping center parking lot where Gabby was meeting with constituents. Ambulances were screaming by, and a helicopter was landing in the middle of the street — there was chaos everywhere.

On that day, January 8, 2011, Gabby and her husband Mark’s lives, along with the lives of too many Arizonans, were changed. All because of an act of senseless gun violence.

Following that tragic day, as Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, I led the fight against our state’s Republicans, like then-Governor Jan Brewer, who was hell-bent on slashing even the most basic of common-sense gun legislation.

As I said, this cause is personal, and it’s why I went on to build a company that helped people move billions of dollars away from the big banks that are financing the gun manufacturers profiting from violence and funding the gun lobby.

After the shooting in 2011, many of us gathered at a candlelight vigil in Tucson, where we wore these “Together We Thrive” shirts. That’s why I wore the shirt yesterday, and that’s why I’ll never give up in the fight to protect people from gun violence on the streets, at work, and in schools.

I’m in this race to fight for common-sense laws that will keep guns out of the wrong hands. As one of only five candidates for Congress endorsed by the Brady PAC, I’m asking:

Peter, will you donate whatever you can today to help us flip AZ-01 blue and ensure Americans have a champion for common-sense gun laws delivering for them in Congress?

Andrei