On the 4th Anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, we will hand-deliver the following letter to all members of Congress.
Please sign up here to join us at St Marks Episcopal Church at 1:00pm on Wednesday, December 14th and/or December 15th to deliver these letters to Congress.
Address: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 301 A Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
December 14, 2016
Dear Senator or Representative _______:
December 14, 2016 is the four-year anniversary date of the devastating Sandy Hook shootings. We continue to mourn the senseless loss of 20 innocent children and their educators on December 14, 2012. We also mourn the loss of 120,000 other Americans who have been killed with guns since that tragic day.
The brutal shootings of 20 children and six educators should have been enough for Congress to take swift action to reduce gun violence. It is tragic and shameful that the House of Representatives has not yet voted on a gun violence prevention (GVP) bill and the Senate has rejected the GVP bills three times in the last four years. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) bipartisan Senate Amendment 715 to S.649 to require background checks on gun sales, was defeated 54-46 on April 17, 2013 after the Sandy Hook shooting and defeated once again by 50-48 margin on December 3, 2015, the day after the San Bernardino shooting. Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) Amendment 4750 to H.R.2578 to require background checks on sale of all guns, was also defeated 55-44 on June 20, 2016 after the senseless Orlando Pulse Night Club shooting.
Annually, over 33,000 Americans die from gunshots and another 80,000 American are getting injured by gunshots. Congress has shamefully done nothing to close the dangerous loopholes in our nation’s gun laws to keep Americans safe from gun violence.
We are a coalition of families of victims, survivors, and gun violence prevention groups from across this great nation representing over 22 million supporters from every state and we are collectively imploring you to support the following bills to end gun violence in our nation:
CLOSE THE LOOPHOLES & EXPAND BACKGROUND CHECKS TO THE SALE OF ALL GUNS:
Senate: Re-introduce, vote on, and support Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) Senate Amendment 4750 to H.R.2578, which is the text language from Senator Charles Schumer’s bill, S.2934, “to ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale”.
House: Cosponsor, vote on, and support companion language such as Rep. Jackie Speier’s (D-CA 14th District) Bill from the 114th Congress: H.R. 3411: the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015.
For more information on why an expanded federal background check bill should be supported: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/BackgroundChecks-factsheet3.pdf
According to Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, “Background checks keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people like felons, domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill. According to FBI data, the Brady Law has blocked more than 3.0 million gun sales to prohibited people since it went into effect in 1994.”
Numerous polls consistently demonstrate that more than 90% of Americans support universal background checks.
BAN ASSAULT RIFLES AND HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES:
Senate: Introduce, vote on, and support a Senate companion to Representative David Ciciline’s (D-RI 1st District) bill H.R. 4269 to ban assault weapons and limit high capacity magazines.
House: Cosponsor, vote on, and support reintroduction of Representative David Cicilline bill H.R. 4269 to ban assault weapons and limit high capacity magazines.
REPEAL THE 2005 PROTECTION OF LAWFUL COMMERCE IN ARMS ACT (PLCAA):
Senate: Cosponsor, vote on, and support reintroduction of legislation like Senators Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) bill in the 114th Congress, S. 2469 - A bill to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to eliminate the special legal protection that shields the firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. For the last decade, PLCAA has provided the corporate gun industry special legal protection that is not enjoyed by any other industry in America.
House: Cosponsor, vote on, and support reintroduction of companion legislation by Rep. Adam Schiff, [D-CA-28] of H.R.4399 - Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act.
For more information on the harmful effects of PLCAA: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/guns-crime/report/2016/01/15/128949/immunizing-the-gun- industry-the-harmful-effect-of-the-protection-of-lawful-commerce-in-arms-act/
ALLOW THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), AS WELL AS OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, TO AGGRESSIVELY CONDUCT RESEARCH ON GUN VIOLENCEPREVENTION:
Dedicate funding for the CDC to support gun violence prevention research and begin to reverse the chilling effect caused by the Appropriations amendment first authored by Rep. Jay Dickey (R-AR) in 1996, also referred to as the Dickey Rider, which continues to practically limit the CDC and other federal agencies from directing public funding toward reducing gun injuries and deaths in America in any significant way equal to the challenge by taking a public health approach to studying it.
For more information on why gun violence research should be encouraged and funded without such destructive appropriations riders, go to: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/guns- crime/report/2016/03/09/132894/removing-barriers-and-reinvesting-in-public-health-research-on-gun- violence/
It is past time for Congress to do its job to keep all Americans safe from gun injuries and death. We demand a vote on these common sense measures to end gun violence in our nation.
Sincerely, Newtown Action Alliance A New Routine for America African American Ministers In Action (AAMIA) All Saints Church Pasadena Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Alliance of Baptists American Federation of Teachers American Humanist Association American Nurses Association Amnesty International USA Arizonans for Gun Safety Battle Born Progress Bergen County Brady Chapter Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March Campaign to Unload Ceasefire Oregon CeaseFire Pennsylvania Center of Concern CHICAGO SURVIVORS Children's Firearm Safety Alliance Christopher Hale Coalition Against Gun Violence, a Santa Barbara County Coalition Coalition to Stop Gun Violence CODEPINK Colorado Ceasefire Conference of Major Superiors of Men CT Against Gun Violence Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Dominican Sisters of Peace Episcopal Peace Fellowship Every Child Matters Families4peace Fig Tree Revolution Franciscan Action Network Franciscan Peace Center Friends Against Violence Everywhere GAYS AGAINST GUNS Georgians for Gun Safety Global Justice Institute, Metropolitan Community Churches Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership GunControlToday Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence Iowa Conference United Methodist Women Iowans for Gun Safety Islamic Society of North America Jessi's Message Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN) Joint Action Committee JPIC Committee of the Sisters of St. Francis Leadership Conference of Women Religious LGBTQ4GVP Maine Gun Safety Coalition Marylander to Prevent Gun Violence Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington Office MomsRising National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Cathedral Gun Violence Prevention Group National Coalition Against Domestic Violence National Council of Churches National Domestic Violence Hotline National Education Association National Gun Victims Action Council National Physicians Alliance Nebraskans Against Gun Violence NETWORK New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence New Yorkers Against Gun Violence North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Northern Virginia Brady Campaign Northwest Corner Committee for Gun Violence Prevention One Pulse for America Pride Fund to End Gun Violence Progressive Congress Action Fund Protect Minnesota Protest Easy Guns Rabbinical Assembly Rabbis Against Gun Violence Reston-Herndon Alliance To End Gun Violence Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence Safe Campus Colorado Sisters of Mercy of the Americas' Institute Justice Team Sisters of Mercy of the Americas' Institute Justice Team States United to Prevent Gun Violence Stop Handgun Violence Stop Killing Innocent People (SKIP) Tampa Bay Center for Community Transformation Team 26, Inc. The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus The Connecticut Effect The Safe Tennessee Project The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society Union for Reform Judaism Unitarian Universalist Association, Multicultural Growth & Witness United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries United Methodist Church Utah Parents Against Gun Violence Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles Vision Quilt WAVE Educational Fund Women Against Gun Violence Women's Law Project Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice
Thank you for your help. Newtown Action Alliance www.newtownaction.org info@newtownaction.org