This New Year's Day, we should be celebrating Tom’s 24th birthday. And while we do have hope for a good year for our family and for each of you, we also spend this day under a great cloud of sadness and painfully missing our dear Tom. The photo in this post was taken on a highway in New Zealand, when Betsy and I visited during Tom's amazing semester abroad. Today we are warmed by the notion that Tom is hiking or floating above us along another scenic highway, looking down and still embracing us with his love. We feel his spirit, but we miss his physical presence. We are grateful that each of you also remember Tom, and every other victim of gun violence, on this day of hope and new beginnings. Tom’s life was so full of promise, so blessed by deep relationships and caring by and for those in need, that we cannot let his spirit or legacy be erased. And we are thankful for the contributions that each of you have made to Tom's legacy, work that will have an impact and help those most in need among us.

In 2019, in spite of a tragic continuation of the increases in gun violence impacting the District of Columbia, we think we have started to see some progress in expanding gun violence prevention efforts. But the road out of DC's gun violence crisis will be long and unpredictable. In 2018, the year that Tom was caught in this epidemic, the homicide rate in DC was up 38% from the year before. Shockingly, only two major US cities, Baltimore and Detroit, had a higher 2018 per-capita homicide rate than DC. And sadly, DC’s 2019 homicide rate increased again by 4% over the huge increase in killings the year before, and reached a 10 year high of 166 deaths. So in 2020, we will need to keep showing up and advocating for serious investment into proven solutions, because this epidemic is still not being adequately addressed in a city that is flowing with resources. Do bring about real change, we will need every Councilmember, every ANC member, every judge and prosecutor and politician, to make eliminating gun violence the highest priority on the DC agenda. And we know that these efforts can work, and we can save lives. This Fall, DC finally took some steps in the right direction, and we are grateful to the Mayor and Police Chief for their commitment to taking simple steps toward safety. One of the measures we had been pushing for, along with the amazing Moms Demand Action DC Chapter, was for the city to repair or replace all of the security cameras in public housing and recreation centers. While this work still needs effort, on November 25th, Mayor Bowser announced that the city would invest $5 million into placing cameras in the most high-risk locations in the city, an investment which will expand the number of security cameras in high crime hot spots by 70%. In addition, the city is consulting with outside experts to help design more effective gun violence prevention and intervention measures. These steps are important, but there is much more that can be done. So we will continue to advocate for change and demand that DC take every necessary step using proven, evidence based practices that have reduced the rate of shootings in other cities. We will work throughout the winter and spring to influence the city’s budget cycle. Remember, DC is one of the richest cities in the United States, and has 2.4 billion in cash reserves. DC can save lives through expanded prevention and intervention efforts, and we must all keep up the pressure to make sure this happens. We know that each of you are invested in a safer future for DC, and for making every street safe for every citizen. This is our great hope for the New Year.

Finally, many of you have asked about the status of the court case. At this point, we have a trial date of February 22, 2021. Sadly, that's how backed up the court system is in DC. Tom's killer has been charged with nine felonies, including 1st degree murder. While the possibility of a plea agreement always exists, at this point it looks like there will be a trial over a year from now. Meanwhile there are status hearings and other court proceedings which some of you have attended. The next hearing is actually January 6th at 9:30am in the courtroom of Judge Neal Kravitz, who will be the trial judge. Facing Tom's killer is always extremely difficult, and we have been fortified by the presence of everyone who has been along for those moments. We will certainly call on you for more love and support when the trial approaches. Nothing in our lives ever prepared us for something like this, and we have been grateful for the wisdom, love and encouragement you have shared. This journey continues, and with every day Betsy, Sally, and I learn to bear the pain and look to having an impact on the future. Where there is pain, there must be hope.

Peace and love to each of you.