Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - An Open Seat at the State of the Union Will Honor Gun Violence Victims—including My 6-year-Old

We live with an empty chair every day of our lives.

At tonight's State of the Union address, one chair will remain empty in honor of the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice. My daughter, Ana Grace M?rquez-Greene, is one of them.

Our family has to live with an empty chair every day—for the rest of our days.

Ana lost her voice on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She was 6 years old. And the empty chair she left behind brings us to our knees every day—but it must not silence us.

For three years and 28 days our family has honored Ana's legacy through the nonprofit foundation we founded in her name, which focuses on trauma awareness and social isolation to prevent violence. But there is more work to do.

Although we have made great strides with our foundation, and my husband has even been nominated for two Grammys for his musical tribute to Ana, these are bittersweet honors.

All we ever wanted to do was be parents and have a family. Our surviving son was only 8 at the time of his sister's murder.

And so we support President Barack Obama's recent executive actions. Although it may be too late to save our Ana, we believe that every life is precious. And we should do all we can to protect American families—in every community—from these losses.

Barack Obama started the work—and I believe Hillary Clinton will finish it.

We are now at a crossroads in America—a tipping point on gun violence. And we need a candidate that will balance Second Amendment protection with the protection of human life. We need a rational, forward-moving conversation to address this issue. And we must not get stuck in partisan rhetoric.

Love wins. And it also saves lives.