Monday, November 6, 2017

"Thoughts and prayers" are not enough

Yesterday, we watched in horror as the news came in about yet another mass shooting in our country. We've seen these headlines so many times before—at concerts, movie theaters, rallies, schools—but this time it was a small community church in Sutherland, TX, where at least 26 parishioners lost their lives.

Dear MoveOn Member,

Yesterday, we watched in horror as the news came in about yet another mass shooting in our country. We’ve seen these headlines so many times before—at concerts, movie theaters, rallies, and schools—but this time it was a small community church in Sutherland, TX, where at least 26 parishioners lost their lives. Although it is the worst mass shooting in Texas this century, it is not even the worst mass shooting in the past 60 days in the United States.1 And, tragically, it's one of many—in fact, it is the 378th mass shooting this year in our country.2

Already, we’ve seen the knee-jerk inaction from Republicans. Donald Trump said that the massacre was "not a guns situation" and that it was "a little bit too soon" to talk about gun laws in the wake of the tragedy.3 And lawmakers in the pocket of the NRA have offered their "thoughts and prayers" while refusing to acknowledge the root problem and obvious solution.

Enough is enough.

Nothing will bring back the 26 people who lost their lives yesterday, and "thoughts and prayers" will not stop the next victims from losing theirs. But our massive, coordinated efforts to stop dangerous Republicans and NRA evangelists from ever taking power can make a real difference.

Can you chip in $3 now to help us mobilize a real electoral response to the epidemic of gun violence in our country?

Yes, I'll chip in.

MoveOn members aren't new to combating gun violence. We organized more than 30,000 gun owners who favored sensible gun laws two years ago and helped push President Obama to take executive action and close loopholes. After the recent massacre in Las Vegas, more than 200,000 MoveOn members signed petitions against assault weapons. And just two weeks ago, we helped push the Democratic Party to reject donations from gun lobbyists. And now we’re gearing up for our next big fights.

On December 12, Alabama will vote to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Jeff Sessions, and MoveOn will be working as hard as we can to prevent Roy Moore—a dangerous, ultra-conservative zealot—from winning.

Moore was famously removed from Alabama’s supreme court in 2015 after he ordered state judges to violate the law and deny marriage licenses to LGBT couples, and several weeks ago at a campaign rally, he waved a gun at the crowd to prove just how much he loves firearms.4

We cannot let people like Roy Moore and others, who offer their thoughts and prayers while refusing to take action, be elected. We cannot allow the NRA to continue stopping commonsense gun control from even being debated in Congress. We cannot allow lawmakers around the country to continue turning a blind eye to the senseless slaughter of our fellow citizens.

Can you chip in $3 to help fund MoveOn's effort to defeat NRA evangelists, and elect politicians who will fight the gun lobby?

Yes, I'll chip in.

This special election is only the beginning: MoveOn is gearing up to run a massive, coordinated campaign to take back the House in 2018, which can help end the stranglehold the NRA has on our government and our lives. But we need your help to get there.

Now is not just a time for thoughts and prayers, it is a time for action. Join us, and we will stand up to the gun lobby together.

Thank you for all you do.

–Anna, Marie, Ben, Gabby, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "26 killed in church attack in Texas' deadliest mass shooting," ABC News, November 6, 20177
http://act.moveon.org/go/21163?t=4&akid=192856%2E10220574%2EuJqdPU

2. "U.S. Mass Shootings, 2017," Mass Shooting Tracker, accessed November 6, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/21164?t=6&akid=192856%2E10220574%2EuJqdPU

3. "Trump: 'Mental health' is the issue behind Texas shooting, not guns," USA Today, November 6, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/21165?t=8&akid=192856%2E10220574%2EuJqdPU

4. "GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Pulled Out A Gun At A Campaign Rally," The Huffington Post, September 26, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/21166?t=10&akid=192856%2E10220574%2EuJqdPU

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 toward 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.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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