Dear friends,
When I was in high school, I remember looking through yearbooks from previous years. It seemed that every graduating class included a page to remember the classmates that didn’t make it to graduation. In my town, young people died on the train tracks, had fatal car crashes, or on occasion, were struck down by rare illnesses.
Students Demand Action has embraced the wear orange campaign. Ordinarily, I am impatient with the ribbon campaigns to create awareness. But this campaign caught my attention because it brings the message of standing against gun violence to new and soon-to-be voters and their parents, especially on a day when they are reflecting on what it takes to grow up.
There is probably not a parent in America who hasn’t blanched in fear of losing a child to senseless violence. All of us adults, young and old, need to vote for leaders who will take on the NRA and vote for laws that will reduce gun violence.
Pass this on to a 2022 graduate. It is no small thing to survive an American childhood.
Request your gun violence prevention honor cord to wear at your graduation.
In the last 24 hours, various friends have sent these texts:
It’s very difficult living in this world. Yeah it’s brutal.
I cannot handle the world these days.
Have a decent day
The feelings of exhaustion and defeat are palpable. I regard myself as a relentless motherfucker, and I’m scaling back my plans for the morning because I can’t find another way to have a decent day. I’m looking forward to spending the afternoon working with children.
Identify two things that will make your day decent. Then, take care of yourself.
An NBA basketball coach, Steve Kerr, refused to talk basketball before a game and instead chose to talk about his outrage over gun violence. More people must refuse to do what’s expected of them in the face of madness.
"In the last 10 days, we've had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we've had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California, now we have children murdered at school," Kerr told reporters at the start of the press conference.
"When are we going to do something? I'm tired. I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there ... I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough.
Kerr expressed frustration that fifty senators are refusing to vote on HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act which passed the House in March 2021.
HR 1446 would required enhanced background checks for gun buyers, and increases the wait time for sales to unlicensed purchasers to a minimum of 10 business days.
what's known as the "Charleston Loophole," which allows some licensed gun sales to go through before a required background check is done. Using that loophole, Dylann Roof was able to legally purchase a firearm to kill nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.
Like HR 8, the bill passed the House over a year ago. Schumer wants to bring it to a vote in the Senate. We need Senators Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski to refuse to do the expected foot-dragging and dissembling.
Sign the petition from BradyPAC. Note that you don’t have to donate in order to sign.
You can also take part in a rally and march. Gays Against Guns formed after the Pulse nightclub massacre in which 49 people died, almost six years ago.
Gays Against Guns are marching to Times Square this afternoon to demand legislation that will prevent mass shootings.
Here in NYS, the Governor is hoping to sign legislation to prevent people under 21 from purchasing assault weapons. The change would raise the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 from 18 to 21.
Young people cannot legally buy a beer until they’re 21, so you are forgiven if you assumed that there might be common-sense limits on gun ownership.
Hochul has left the door open to supporting S476, which would prevent those under 21 from legally owning any firearm.
An NRA board member said these stupid words:
"I'm against raising the age to 21," he said. "I don't see what good it's going to do. There are many other things that [Hochul] can do in order to make the people of New York safer — harden schools, put in armed police officers or armed guards, or even arm some teachers if necessary, if they want to be."
Contact your legislators and let them know that you support legislation to make gun ownership illegal for those under 21.
I didn’t create a ready-made action above, because those of you who have your legislators among your contacts will communicate from the heart. You might want to mention that hardening schools and arming teachers are not the solution.
The NYS legislative session is drawing to a close in just one week. Food & Water Watch has made it easy to contact legislators to push for passage of three important climate initiatives that we have been working on for months. You can sign all three in under a minute.
Tell lawmakers to Pass the All Electric Buildings Act, Pass the Cryptomining Moratorium, and Pass the Build Public Renewables Act!
The folks at NY Renews have packed all their top recommendations into one comment for the state’s Climate Action Council.
Submit another comment to the Climate Action Council in just 15-seconds!
Yesterday was the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The weapons were white supremacy and Derek Chauvin’s knee. These heartbreaking anniversaries are reminders of the work left in front of us.
Do what you can today.
with love,
L