From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):
In November 2018, dozens of candidates ran on gun safety and won [1], changing the balance of power in Washington, D.C., and promising that gun safety would be a top priority for the 116th Congress.
Today, less than a week after being sworn into office, the new leadership is delivering. Congress has just introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen background checks on all gun sales. It’s now up to us to help push it forward.
*There’s no time to lose. Tell Congress to finally pass universal background checks at https://action.momsrising.org/sign/universal_background_checks_2019!
In the U.S. House of Representatives, five Democrats and five Republicans introduced the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8) in honor of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on the 8th anniversary of the Tucson shooting that left 19 people dead or injured, including Giffords. [2] In the U.S. Senate, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the companion legislation, The Background Check Expansion Act. [3]
According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 97% of those polled support requiring background checks for all gun buyers. [4] What is Congress waiting for?
This is an emergency we must address together. The CDC recently reported that gun deaths in America are at a record high. [5] In the face of tragedy at this scale, we cannot allow our lawmakers to ignore universal background checks as a key first step to protecting our country from this growing epidemic. It’s time to save lives and passing policies like this can do just that.
In fact, states that passed comprehensive background check legislation and reporting systems experienced lower rates of gun-related violent crime and suicide. [6] It’s no longer a question of “will this work?” We know it will, and Congress needs to step up to make it the law of the land now.
The more people who make their voices heard, the bigger impact we can have. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family and post this link on your Facebook and Twitter accounts: https://action.momsrising.org/sign/universal_background_checks_2019/?t=9&akid=11635%2E2540879%2ETjPo0d
Enough is enough. America needs universal background checks now!
[1] “A Third Rail No More: Incoming House Democrats Embrace Gun Control,” NPR, November 13, 2018. [2] “Giffords marks 8-year anniversary of near-fatal Tucson shooting,” KTAR, January 8, 2019. [3] “House Democrats unveil bill expanding gun background checks,” NBCNews, January 8, 2019. [4] “Poll: 97 percent support background checks for all gun buyers,” The Hill, February 20, 2018. [5] “Gun deaths in US reach highest level in nearly 40 years, CDC data reveal,” CNN, December 14, 2018. [6] “The Effects of Background Checks,” The Rand Corporation, 2017.
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