Saturday, August 10, 2019

Let's erect billboards to hold Mitch McConnell and the NRA accountable NOW Stop Mass Shootings (MoveOn Gun Control Team) 8/4/2019 3:48 PM

Stop Mass Shootings (MoveOn Gun Control Team)<moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
To  Alfred F Johnson  
Alfred—This weekend, gunmen killed at least 29 people in back-to-back mass shootings—in El Paso, Texas, in an attack apparently fueled by anti-immigrant racism and white supremacy—and in Dayton, Ohio. These were the 250th and 251th mass shootings this year in America.1
In comparison, there's been one mass shooting this year in Canada and three in Mexico.2
We can tackle the epidemic of gun violence in America. But Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators are blocking sweeping gun control legislation passed by the majority-Democrat House earlier this year.
That's why we wrote you last week—after the mass shooting in Gilroy, California—that we must hold McConnell and other GOP senators accountable and defeat those who are up for re-election in 2020 (especially McConnell), starting with putting up billboards in central, high-traffic locations in their home states that highlight their role in America's gun violence epidemic. Will you chip in now to help us pay for the billboards?
In the wake of these horrific tragedies, we simply must come together and speak out. See below for more. –Emily, Emma, Stephen, Manny, and the rest of the team
Dear MoveOn member,
Last Sunday, a gunman with a military assault-style weapon killed three people, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured 12 at a garlic festival in California. It was the 42nd mass shooting in July alone and the 246th in America this year.3
These shootings need to stop. At festivals. At shopping centers. At schools. At places of worship. At night clubs. At movie theaters.
There are so many simple, clear steps that lawmakers can take to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in America—by passing into law policies that are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans and even most gun owners.4,5
Universal background checks. Closing the gun show loophole. Banning assault weapons such as AR-15s. Banning bump stocks. Addressing America's mental health crisis. And redoubling our efforts to combat white supremacy and domestic terrorism.
Indeed, the Democratic U.S. House passed two bills that would accomplish many of these goals earlier this year, but Mitch McConnell and the GOP—at the bidding of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun manufacturers—won't even allow the bills to come up for a vote in the Senate.6 They won't even allow federal funding for research into gun violence.7 It's outrageous. And it's heartbreaking.
That's why we're going to hold McConnell and other vulnerable GOP senators accountable and defeat them in 2020, starting with putting up billboards in central, high-traffic locations in their home states that highlight their role in America's gun violence epidemic. Will you pitch in $3 to help us pay for the billboards?
The horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School nearly seven years ago should have been a tipping point on gun violence in America, but since then:
  • There have been approximately 2,185 mass shootings.8
  • Congress has passed into law zero measures to make our children and communities safer.
  • The NRA and gun manufacturers continue to write big checks to Republican politicians.
According to polls, Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators who are up in for re-election in 2020 are increasingly vulnerable.9 But to defeat them in 2020—which is the only way we can finally pass legislation to address America's gun violence crisis—we need to make sure their constituents know that they're standing with the NRA and blocking commonsense reforms to address America's gun violence epidemic.
We didn't budget for the billboards, which is why we're asking you to chip in now, so we can quickly purchase them. We can only do it if we raise the money now. Can you chip in $3—or whatever you can afford—right now?
We can never forget that the GOP is culpable in these heartbreaking and avoidable gun deaths, as a result of their obedience to the NRA's dangerous agenda. Let's make sure that the voters in their states know it, too.
Thanks for all you do.
–Emily, Emma, Stephen, Manny, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Dayton, Ohio shooting: Nine dead, 26 injured; suspected gunman killed, police say," USA Today, August 4, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/72806?t=5&akid=240825%2E38417624%2EbpnIR2
3. Tweet by Gun Violence Archive, July 29, 2019
 
4. "Americans support gun control but doubt lawmakers will act: Reuters/Ipsos poll," Reuters, February 8, 2019
 
5. "Most Gun Owners Support Stricter Laws — Even NRA Members," Time, March 13, 2018
 
6. "House Passes Sweeping Gun Bill," NPR, February 27, 2019
 
7. "House GOP appropriators block funding for gun violence research," Politico, July 11, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/68482?t=17&akid=240825%2E38417624%2EbpnIR2
 
8. "After Sandy Hook, we said never again. And then we let 2,185 mass shootings happen." Vox, accessed July 30, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/68483?t=19&akid=240825%2E38417624%2EbpnIR2
 
9. "Poll: McConnell is most unpopular senator," The Hill, July 18, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/68663?t=21&akid=240825%2E38417624%2EbpnIR2
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