JWI's Statement Following Mass Shooting in Las Vegas "We must act now."

Washington, D.C. – In the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Jewish Women International (JWI), the leading Jewish organization working to end violence against women and girls, offers the following statement from CEO Lori Weinstein:

“Monday morning we awoke to the news of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, likely the most deadly shooting in American history. Now we add Las Vegas to the all too long list we all can recite – Aurora, Columbine, Newtown, Orlando, San Bernadino, Charleston. But today we must also think of the daily shootings that don’t make the headlines. Every day, 93 Americans die from guns. Every day, American children are 14 times more likely to die from guns than children in other developed countries.

“It is too easy to feel overwhelmed, too easy to mourn and to try to accept these deaths as part of modern life. But the fact is there are things we can do. Universal background checks, bans on possession of guns by anyone who has committed domestic or sexual violence, proper storage requirements, regulating silencers. Simple steps that will make a difference. We have seen too many innocent victims gunned down. We owe it to every child in Newtown, every young person in Orlando, every concert goer in Las Vegas, every nameless victim whose story we don’t hear because there are far too many.

“Stronger gun laws have been proven to reduce gun violence. We cannot let wealthy lobbying groups hold our nation hostage any longer. We must act now."