Dear friend,
One 24-hour period. Two mass shootings. 31 people dead and at least 50 wounded.
The shootings in El Paso and Dayton are just the latest tragedies in America's gun violence nightmare.
But we refuse to accept this as "normal." No other country has our epidemic of mass gun violence, and we can stop it here.
Step one is to defeat Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and every other politician who spouts white supremacy and stands with the NRA against action on gun violence.
The U.S. has a gun homicide rate nearly 50 times that of Great Britain.1 This year alone, we've seen 251 mass shootings in the U.S.--and just one in Canada.2,3
The research has been done, and we know why this is happening : because the U.S. has more guns and weaker gun laws than any other nation on earth. Meanwhile, Trump's racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric has added a spike in hate crimes to the toxic brew.4
But the tide is finally starting to turn on gun violence.
After Parkland, we saw a wave of companies from United Airlines to Hertz to MetLife break ties with the NRA.5 The wave of activism led by student survivors of that shooting helped drive the Blue Wave of 2018, throwing 40 pro-NRA members out of office.
Most importantly, public support for strengthening gun laws reached its highest level in 25 years.6
But instead of supporting commonsense action on gun violence, like background checks and banning assault weapons, Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are using excuses right out of the NRA playbook, like blaming violent video games.7
We cannot let these shootings continue--and we can't let the politicians standing with the NRA continue to get away with blocking action. Will you donate to help hold them accountable ?
Thank you for joining in.
Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Emma, Natalie, Melody, Lindsay, Pam, Ryan, Sonja, and Kimberly, the UltraViolet Action team.
Sources :
1. What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer, New York Times, November 7, 2017
2. Tweet by The Spectator Index, August 3, 2019
3. Archive 2019, Gun Violence Archive, accessed August 5, 2019
4. The Effect of President Trump's Election on Hate Crimes, SSRN, January 18, 2018
5. NRA fallout: See the list of companies that cut discounts for NRA members after Parkland, Florida school shooting, USA Today, February 26, 2018
6. Public support for gun restrictions has grown to the highest level in 25 years, Washington Post, March 14, 2018
7. President Trump Calls for Crackdown on Violent Video Games, Mental Health Reforms After Shootings, Time, August 5, 2019
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