“The right to protest is one of the bedrock foundations of our democracy and has led to vitally important advances throughout our history. In the United States of America, we have the right to protest, to make our voices heard, and to speak truth to power. The brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police deserves the sustained, furious national response it has generated, with people taking a stand against the horrific racism that has long pervaded our criminal justice system – and our society – and time and again takes innocent lives.

“What happened in the District of Columbia yesterday – when heavily militarized forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and then low-flying helicopters to move and then terrorize law-abiding, peaceful protesters – was an outrage. For President Trump to call himself ‘an ally of all peaceful protesters’ as he used this unnecessary force was laughable. Trump’s call for militarized armed violence against protesters was shocking in both its naked authoritarianism and its instigation of violence -- and is not a direction the moms of America will allow our country to take in the future.

“The escalation President Trump seeks is especially dangerous in a country with more guns than people. Guns and gun policy, including the Second Amendment, which the President referenced yesterday, have been the tools of the powerful in the past and of the white supremacy Trump speaks for now.

“America’s moms are horrified and repulsed by this President’s words and actions. For the sake of the freedoms and ideals our country has always strived to embody, and for the safety of people struggling to be heard, this must be stopped.”