Saying “Americans are feeling ripped apart by the gun death we have seen year after year, month after month,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York reacted to last week’s mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Va., which left a dozen dead.

“We need to do something about it. I think the most outrageous thing that has happened to our democracy is how much fear and division and hate has been spread,” said Gillibrand, one of nearly two dozen Democrats running for president. “I think the [National Rifle Association] is the worst organization in this country for doing exactly that. They care more about their profits than the American people.

“They care more about selling guns to someone on the terror watch list or someone with grave mental illness or someone who has violent criminal background, they are against universal background checks,” she added. “… So we need as Americans need to stand up to the greed and corruption of the NRA and we know why, it’s because of the money and politics.

“Money and politics is the name of the game, it’s why the first thing that I’ve done as a presidential candidate is put forth a very comprehensive platform for publicly funded elections so that your voice is as loud as any Koch Brothers and your voice is not drowned out by the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on negative campaign for special interest across this country,” Gillibrand added, referring to the wealthy brothers known for funding conservative causes.

“So I will do three things as president: First, I will make sure we have universal background checks. Second, I will make sure we banned the bump stocks, the large magazines, the assault rifles, the military style weapons. I will make sure we have a federal anti-trafficking law and once we get money out of politics, the NRA will end its chokehold on members of Congress who have no courage to stand up to them and do the right thing on behalf of the constituents and the American people,” she concluded.