CNN reporter makes plea to gun owners after colleague’s death

CNN’s senior medical correspondent urged gun owners to press for gun reform following the death of her colleague who was killed walking out of a pizza restaurant in March. 

In an essay published Monday, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen wrote of her ex-colleague Sierra Jenkins, a former CNN Health news assistant.

Jenkins was only 25 when she died in a shooting prompted by an argument over a spilled drink. She was killed alongside Devon Harris, 25, and Marquel Andrews, 24.

“A kind and lovely woman, a bright and rising star, a young journalist with such incredible potential, gone in the second it took someone to pull a trigger,” Cohen wrote. 

Later in her essay, Cohen said that “responsible gun owners are in a unique position to change the political winds and convince Republicans to vote for reasonable safety measures on these deadly weapons.”

“If politicians want to turn their backs on responsible gun owners and side instead with the National Rifle Association, they should think again,” Cohen added. “The NRA has been spending less and less on lobbying, and in addition, many responsible gun owners feel alienated from the group.”

Cohen’s essay comes about three weeks after an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two adults dead, prompting a revived nationwide outcry for gun reform. 

Since then, a bipartisan group of senators has been discussing a gun reform and mental health package. It announced a framework deal on Sunday, with 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats signing on in support.

“Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday promised “to put this bill on the floor as soon as possible” once the text of the agreement is finalized.