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Statement

STATEMENT OF KRISTIN ROWE-FINKBEINER, Executive Director of MomsRising, On “School Shield Initiative” Recommendation To Place Armed Guards in Schools

April 2, 2013
Gun Control

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Moms Call NRA Proposal for Guns in Schools Dangerous and Deadly
“The NRA’s ‘School Shield Initiative’ recommendation to place armed guards in every school would be ludicrous were it not so terrifying. MomsRising joins teachers’ groups, parenting organizations, and leading children’s advocates in rejecting this dangerous and even deadly proposal.
 
“Instead of putting more guns in our schools and forcing our children to live in fear every day, we should let them focus on learning. We demand that our leaders work to keep dangerous weapons off the streets, out of schools, and away from our children.
 
“To be clear, placing more guns in schools is not the common sense solution to gun violence we are seeking.
 
“The NRA’s leadership is continuously abdicating its responsibility for the gun violence that plagues our country by bringing to bear every resource it has to oppose even minimal, low bar, common sense efforts to improve gun safety, like background checks for all gun sales, and taking deadly assault weapons and high capacity magazines off the streets. Instead they endorse dramatic and dangerous proposals that will increase the number of guns in our nation and line the pockets of the NRA and gun manufacturers while endangering the lives of our children.
  
“Putting more guns in schools isn't the answer. We need common sense gun violence prevention laws that include:
  • Universal background checks for all gun purchases, including gun shows and on the Internet.
  • An assault weapons ban, which also limits high capacity magazines.
  • A federal gun trafficking statute with real penalties to stop the illegal sales of guns between state-to-state and international jurisdictions.
“MomsRising has asked the NRA’s leadership to meet with us and hear our concerns about the gun violence in our nation so that perhaps we can come together to solve this problem. But we have been rebuffed and turned away.
 
“At MomsRising, we have more than a million members, many of whom are also members of the NRA. We're hearing from people across the political spectrum that it's time for more logical thinking about our gun safety policies.
 
“The NRA’s leadership has made it crystal clear that it is not truly committed to ending gun violence and will do anything it can to continue to support the manufacture and sale of the guns that are killing our children. We send back an unequivocal message that we will not give up until common sense gun laws prevail.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.