HELLO GIGGLES: “Debbie Mucarsel-Powell lost her father to gun violence, and now she’s fighting for a better America”

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, born in Ecuador, immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager with her mother and three sisters seeking the “American Dream.” Now, she’s in the running for a seat in Congress. At the top of her list? Tackling gun violence, immigration reform, climate change, affordable health care, supporting women’s rights and representation in politics, and ensuring all working families have the opportunity to get ahead in the U.S.

Before the highs, though, she went through her fair share of lows. At age 24, Mucarsel-Powell lost her father to gun violence, so that issue hits close to home.

“He never walked me down the aisle. My children never met their grandfather. My sisters and I never had the chance to say goodbye,” Mucarsel-Powell recounted in an advertisement that ran during the nationwide March for Our Lives demonstrations earlier this year in March.

“In Congress,” she added during the advertisement, “I won’t rest until there’s real change that keeps our families, our neighborhoods, and our schools safe. I owe that to everyone who has lost someone to gun violence.”

In addition to opening up about her personal experience with gun violence, Mucarsel-Powell is adamant about the ways she wants us as a country, and elected officials in Washington D.C., to not only think about gun violence but actually take the necessary steps toward gun reform.

Read the full interview here.