Dear MoveOn member,
In any other country, what happened in Las Vegas, NV, on Sunday and its aftermath would be unthinkable: a devastating gun massacre followed by zero legislative action. But here in the U.S., that's just how it is—because our politics are frozen by the perceived power of the NRA.
The key word: "perceived." Because Republican politicians see the NRA as ultra-powerful, they think that staying in power means always siding with the gun lobby—against public safety. So the only way to end this lethal political limbo is to show that the NRA is not a political blessing, but, in fact, a political curse.
We've got a massive opportunity to do this—to take on the NRA in its own backyard. On November 7, Virginia—the state where the NRA's headquarters are located—will elect a governor and state legislature. This is becoming, in part, a referendum on NRA's power and has the potential to transform the perception of the gun lobby's strength—especially important as we head into the 2018 elections.
MoveOn is ready to scale up our work in Virginia to the next level—if we have the resources. Can you chip in $3 to help?
The GOP candidate for governor of Virginia, Ed Gillespie, has an "A" from the NRA and says that it's "too soon" to discuss policy change after the Las Vegas shootings. By contrast, the Democratic candidate, Ralph Northam, has an "F" from the NRA and argues that "we do not need assault weapons on our streets."1
Gun safety will be a critical issue in the House of Delegate races, too. As The Washington Post reported, "[g]un violence roils Virginia election"—the NRA is already on its heels, delaying a huge planned ad campaign by a week.2
This is it. We've got just 33 days to puncture the myth of NRA invulnerability in Virginia. Can you help?
Yes, I'll chip in $3 to help defeat the NRA in Virginia.
With your support, here's what MoveOn will do:
- Mega-volunteer mobilization through our new custom-built, volunteer-driven text message mobilization tool. Not only can we get volunteers out in the streets, we can start testing tactics that will be central to our 2018 efforts.
- Viral gun-safety videos on social media. The video that we posted two nights ago—featuring a gun-owning MoveOn member urging gun safety laws—has already notched a million views. We'll pay to get those videos in front of every person who needs a reminder of what's at stake. We'll also use these videos to test their impact and fine-tune our micro-targeting.
- Media advocacy to make our message clear: In print and on TV, we'll make sure that the Virginia election serves, in part, as a referendum on the NRA's power.
If Democrats win big in Virginia, Republicans nationwide will see the wave building—accelerating a growing wave of GOP retirements and giving us our best shot at taking the House (and perhaps even the Senate) in 2018. We'll make progressive policies possible in Virginia and nationwide. And we'll show that an unapologetic anti-gun-violence position can help win elections.
Can you chip in $3 support this critical work?
In the United States of America, power should flow from people voting at the ballot box, not a shadowy special interest group committed to undermining public safety. The horror in Las Vegas should not paralyze us, but propel us to action. Let's stand up to fight for a country in which no one has to live in fear and where our democracy is worthy of its people.
Thanks for all you do.
–Maria, Seth, Hawley, Ann, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Northam: 'We do not need assault weapons on our streets,'" The Washington Post, October 3, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/18201?t=5&akid=190879%2E10220574%2Eojs3Do
2. "Gun violence roils Virginia election — NRA puts ad on ice, gun control advocates cancel events," The Washington Post, October 2, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/18202?t=7&akid=190879%2E10220574%2Eojs3Do
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back towards sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
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