We cannot look away

 

Friend:

10 people dead in a grocery store, 21 in an elementary school, 4 shot in a hospital. These mass shootings are so frequent that we don’t even have time to grieve before the next one happens. Many of us feel crushed under the sadness, anger, and hopelessness.

Right now, a bipartisan group in Congress is negotiating gun control measures. A few weeks ago, many insiders would have told you that even those conversations weren’t possible. This turnabout shows how much power people like you who are reading this email have, and why it’s so important that we don’t settle for what talking heads tell us is possible but instead push for what we want. 

That’s why we’re asking you to join us in calling for a ban on assault weapons that allow shooters to kill — turning mothers, grandparents, and kids into victims — in mere minutes. These weapons of war rip apart human bodies and have no purpose except to kill people — and the gun lobby and manufacturers are counting on you giving up on your crucial activism to push for change.

Deals are being negotiated in Congress as you read this — which is why we’re asking you to take two minutes to add your name and urge Congress to ban assault weapons.

After the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary 10 years ago (yes, it has been 10 years), many people told themselves that nothing could be done to stop gun violence in the United States. That meaningful gun control was impossible. That it was hopeless. This is not true, and we cannot allow ourselves to give up when lives are at stake. 

The gun lobby and manufacturers are counting on you accepting that the only way to be safe in the United States is for everyone to buy their weapons and stay armed to the teeth.. 

But a violent, guns-everywhere dystopia is not inevitable. And we must refuse this dangerous militarism in our communities. Since Newtown, an amazing movement of ordinary people, many of them young people, has formed to combat gun violence and fight for life-saving reforms. In this moment, we need to raise our voices with them as loud as we can and demand that those elected to keep our communities safe by doing their jobs. 

As an anti-war activist, you know that peace is priceless. You also probably know that the militarism and violence-first foreign policy mindset that drives our aggression abroad has also militarized our streets with horrible consequences. It is time to say enough.

Congress could act NOW to prevent mass shooting injuries and deaths. There’s a bipartisan deal in the middle of being forged, which is why it’s so critical that we demand that it include a federal ban on all assault weapons. We did it before after Columbine and we can do it again. Can you join us to call on Congress with this urgent demand?

Sign now and urge Congress to ban assault weapons.

Daily gun violence shouldn’t have to be our normal. Parents shouldn’t have to fear for their safety when they buy food for their families. Children shouldn’t have to be trained on how to try and survive a school shooting. Employees shouldn’t have to go to work fearing for their lives. No one anywhere should have to consider the potentially fatal risk of going out to have fun, whether it be at a movie theater, a mall, or a high school graduation party.

With your help, we can make sure Congress hears us loud and clear when we say weapons of war do not belong in our streets or anywhere. Together, we can push Congress to do their job — that means representing AND protecting us.

We cannot let ourselves give up — it is our duty to win.

Thank you for working for peace,

Stephen and the Win Without War team

---