Citing last year’s horrific shooting at Seattle Pacific University, as well as other similar tragedies, today Senator Patty Murray demanded—as so many others have demanded—that Congress adopt a comprehensive approach to gun control legislation.

Though Murray appears calm and measured while delivering her message, at the end you hear the voice of a person who is sick and tired of rehearsing the same argument over and over again:

I wish we never had to have this conversation again. I wish we never had to hear about the latest child killed. The latest school upended. I know we all wish that. Wishing will not make it happen.

Rich Smith is The Stranger's former News Editor. He writes about politics, books, and performance. You can read his poems at www.richsmithpoetry.com