Gun violence is a crisis in our country. That crisis has reached a fever pitch with almost as many mass shootings last year as there were days in the year. In fact, there have been more than 100,000 deaths as a result of gun violence in the last decade. This cannot go on. Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons, aunts, uncles, and grandparents should not continue to face losing loved ones to senseless acts of gun violence.
We thank President Obama for standing up for families. These two common sense executive orders make our communities safer from gun violence: requiring criminal background checks on more gun sales and preventing more guns from falling into the wrong hands.
Today, the over million MomsRising members, including members in every state in our nation, cheer the President’s action. We have worked hard to try to move an intractable Congress toward a safer nation. We have delivered open letters to members of Congress bearing more than 100,000 signatures urging them to support background checks. We have also visited their offices in person, in their local districts and in Washington, D.C., and even serenaded members in conjunction with the Word Children’s Choir urging them to stand up for common sense gun safety measures. We have shared our stories, made phone calls, sent letters, written op-eds, gathered together in person, been part of demonstrations and marches, sent letters to the President, and so much more.
We thank the President for listening to the families in our great nation, and also for his courage, his conviction and his compassion on gun safety. This is an important step forward. We've got so much more to do in 2016 in this policy area and also on critical family economic security policies relating to paid family leave, fair pay, and affordable, high quality child care; as well as on policies relating to policing and criminal justice reform, and immigration policy reform. All of these policies lift families, communities, and our economy. We hope that all political leaders rise to the challenge of moving forward common sense gun safety policies, as well as other policies that also lift our families and our economy. It’s time.
[Journalists, please see our statement on the executive order here for contact information. ~Eds.]
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