A Statement on Recent Events

Recent events have been nothing short of heartbreaking, disturbing, and unfathomably alarming. Since its inception, the United States has been a refuge for those escaping tyranny and persecution. This is an undeniable part of our cultural heritage, enshrined in our Nation’s founding documents to remind us that ALL people are endowed with certain unalienable rights. These values have created one of the most diverse societies in the world, and have made us the powerful and influential country that we are. And right now we are seeing these values come under attack.  

We are a few weeks out from the celebration of our Nation’s Independence Day, but the federal actions fail to reflect our shared liberties and freedoms, instead choosing to act out on the worst impulses and prejudiced fears of a minority. The treatment and actions we are witnessing against immigrants in our country and community are troubling.

With the evolving situations in Los Angeles and across the state, I’ve been receiving regular updates from CalOES and our Senate Leadership, and I remain ready to help in any way that I can. I believe that our military should be off-limits from political gamesmanship, that our journalists should be safe from physical harm and interference while reporting, and that our People should ALL be treated with the basic respect and dignity that our nation has guaranteed and valued since its inception. Putting political views and parties aside, we must never forget our humanity and compassion and that as human beings we all have more in common than not. 

I still believe in our Democracy and the promise of our country, and I hope that together through peaceful action and a loud, shared voice that we can change the course we are headed on.