3-2-1: Three bills that can make a difference on gun violence

Our nation is grieving in the wake of last week's horrific school tragedy. Parkland, Florida was the site of the 18 th  school shooting since 2018 began. This is unconscionable: Our children deserve to attend school without fear and all our citizens deserve to live free from the gun violence that currently plagues our nation. While mass shootings have become commonplace, we cannot numb our grief and outrage – 273 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre is tragic and unacceptable - IT IS TIME TO ACT NOW AND HOLD OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE!

3. Fund gun violence research

Twenty-two years ago Congress passed a provision that bans all gun violence research funded by the federal government. This prohibition has dramatically limited the Center for Disease Control’s ability to examine the devastating impact of gun violence on the health and safety of all Americans. Call your  legislators  and tell them to support the bipartisan push to repeal the  Dicky Amendment  and allow government researchers the freedom to show Congress the real impact guns are having on public health.  

2. Close the "boyfriend loophole"

Current federal law allows convicted dating violence abusers and stalkers to own and purchase guns. While abusers who are married, live with their partners, or have a child together are barred from possessing firearms, dating violence perpetrators and stalkers are not. To close the “ boyfriend loophole ” tell your Senators  to cosponsor S. 1539 and your  Representative  to cosponsor H.R. 3207.

1. Ensure abusers cannot buy guns

While it is illegal for convicted domestic violence abusers to purchase guns, without an up-to-date background check system violent offenders slip through the cracks. A review of the national background check system shows that tens of thousands of domestic violence records were never uploaded to the system. A bipartisan group of Senators cosponsored the  FixNICS Act of 2017  to incentivize states and the military to update this database and make sure that these individuals are unable to purchase firearms. With fifty-four percent of mass shootings related to domestic and family violence it is clear that passing this legislation would save countless lives. Call your  Senators  today and tell them to demand a vote on FixNICS!

And for you... 

a link Ballotpedia.org to find a listing of your elected officials, their contact information, and their votes on key issues. Like us, if you feel passionate that we have to stanch this epidemic of violence, call them, every one of them, national and state, and let them know that in November, you will be voting on their re-election based in large part on their position, activism and leadership on gun violence prevention.