Julianne Moore Writes Emotional Essay About Gun Control

In a new essay for Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter, Julianne Moore explains her stance on gun control and how the the Sandy Hook shooting helped shaped her view on the issue.

“On Dec. 14, 2012, my 10-year-old daughter was with me on a movie set in Queens. She had just started her winter break, and because I’m privileged and lucky enough to have a job that’s rewarding and adaptive to my family life, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to bring her to work with me,” Moore wrote. “What was out of the ordinary was what happened that day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A young man walked into an elementary school and shot 20 children and six adults in just minutes.”

Moore tried to keep the incident from her daughter, turning off all media and asking the crew on her film set to refrain from discussing the news in front of her. But her daughter found out after reading the news on her smartphone.

“At that moment, it felt ridiculous to me, and irresponsible as a parent and as a citizen, that I was not doing something to prevent gun violence,” Moore wrote. “Simply keeping the news away from my child was putting my head in the sand. I wasn’t helping her, or anyone else, by doing that. So I decided to learn more.”

Moore joined the Everytown for Gun Safety, America’s largest gun violence prevention organization co-founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The advocacy group aims to educate citizens on gun safety. Amy Schumer, Sofia Vergara and Jennifer Aniston are also members of the organization.

“Where guns are concerned, it is not a good-guy-versus-bad-guy argument. It should not be a partisan argument. It should not be a pro-gun-versus-anti-gun argument. It is not an argument about our Constitution,” Moore continued. “The Second Amendment protects the right of a United States citizen to bear arms. But a gun is a machine. And if you choose to bear arms, you have a responsibility to bear them safely.”

Moore concluded,  “We need you to continue to turn the tide on gun violence. And I know that we can do it together,” she wrote. “I don’t ever want to have to explain another Newtown to my kids, and neither should you.”