Jeff and His Wife, Margaret Binkley, Will Join Rep. McBath in Washington on Tuesday

Dunwoody, GA — Today, Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-06) announced that Jeff Binkley, the father of Maura Binkley, a 21-year-old woman who was killed last year in shooting at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, will attend the 2019 State of the Union Address on Tuesday as her guest.

“Just three months ago, the Binkleys experienced a tragedy that no parent should ever endure. The pain of losing a child to gun violence never ends. Too many families experience tragedies like ours every single day, and it’s that pain that drives my work for common-sense gun safety legislation,” McBath said. “Maura’s story must be told. It’s vitally important that we continue to share these stories as we work to keep families like ours from experiencing the horror and heartbreak brought on by gun violence. Our community and our nation cannot wait any longer for common-sense gun safety solutions.”

Jeff and Margaret Binkley, of Dunwoody, lost their daughter, Maura Binkley, last November when a man entered a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, and shot six people, killing two, before taking his own life. Maura Binkley graduated from Dunwoody High in 2015 and was a senior at Florida State University, double-majoring in German and English. Rep. McBath and the Binkleys have a shared experience in losing a child to gun violence. McBath’s son, Jordan Davis, was 17-years-old when he was shot and killed by a man who opened fire on a car of unarmed teenage boys at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2012.

Rep. McBath is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, serves as a vice-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and will continue to work with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enact meaningful gun safety legislation. Rep. McBath sits on the House Judiciary Committee, where, this Wednesday, the first hearing on gun safety legislation in nearly a decade will be held.