Let's erect billboards to stop the NRA

Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan—at the bidding of the NRA leadership and gun manufacturers—won't even allow these proposals to come up for a vote. That's why we are going to hold them accountable in a public, visible way with billboards and other media-grabbing reminders in their districts.

Dear MoveOn member,

Every day, an average of 96 Americans—including seven children—are killed with guns.¹

Think about it: That's more than the casualty count from the massacres in Parkland, Newtown, Columbine, Aurora, and Sutherland Springs combined. Every day.

And Congress does nothing to stop it.

Why? Because the Republicans in the House and Senate are so controlled by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that they won't even allow a vote on the most moderate proposals to curb gun violence. In fact, after both the Las Vegas massacre and the mass murder in Parkland, many Republicans' first legislative priority was to expand the presence of guns in our schools and communities.²

It's been 24 days since the Parkland massacre—committed with a military-grade assault weapon similar to those used in Orlando, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Newtown, and so many more mass murders. And since then:

• There have been approximately 2,000 more gun deaths.^3,4
• Zero measures have been taken by Congress to make our children and communities safer.
• Zero dollars have been returned to the NRA and the gun manufacturer lobbyists by Republican politicians.

The math is clear, and it's heartbreaking.

In just over two weeks, hundreds of thousands of Americans will participate in the student-led March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., and in sister marches across the country. And by that date, MoveOn plans to create billboards and other high-profile visuals to shine a spotlight on just how much individual Republican lawmakers have taken from the NRA. As we march with youth activists on March 24, and continue this work in the months to come, we will make sure that their constituents know exactly why Congress is dragging its feet, and what they can do about it. 

Will you pitch in $3 to help MoveOn create billboards and other media-grabbing tactics to hold Republican lawmakers accountable for standing with the NRA instead of with our children and communities?

Yes, I'll chip in now to help fight the NRA and the epidemic of gun violence in America.

There are so many simple, clear steps that we as a country can take to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in America—policies supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people and even most gun owners.^5,6

Universal background checks. Closing the gun show loophole. Banning assault weapons such as AR-15s. Banning bump stocks.

But Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan—at the bidding of the NRA leadership and gun manufacturers—won't even allow these proposals to come up for a vote. They won't even allow federal funding for research into gun violence.

That's why we are going to hold them accountable in a public, visible way with billboards and other media-grabbing reminders in their districts.

But we need your help. We don't have a budget for the billboards, which is why we're asking you to chip in now, so we can quickly purchase them. Can you chip in $3—or whatever you can afford—right now?

Yes, I'll chip in to help make sure that NRA-funded politicians are held accountable.

As we join young activists in the streets later this month and continue to organize in our communities, we can never forget that the GOP is culpable in these gun deaths, as a result of their obedience to the NRA's dangerous agenda.

Let's make sure that the voters in their districts know it, too.

Click here to chip in $3 to help us erect billboards and launch other media-grabbing tactics in key districts to hold GOP politicians accountable for their continued support of the NRA.

Thanks for all you do.

–Emma, Gabby, Mark, Justin, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Gun Violence by the Numbers," Everytown for Gun Safety, accessed March 9, 2018

https://act.moveon.org/go/3762?t=5&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

 

2. "Congress Focuses on Leftover Gun Bill After Florida Shooting," Slate, February 20, 2018

https://act.moveon.org/go/35893?t=7&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

 

3. "Gun Violence Archive 2018," Gun Violence Archive, accessed March 9, 2018

http://act.moveon.org/go/35944?t=9&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

 

4. "Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury - Firearm Suicides," Centers for Disease Control, accessed March 9, 2018

https://act.moveon.org/go/35945?t=11&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

 

5. "The Gun-Control Debate After Parkland," The New Yorker, March 12, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/35946?t=13&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

 

6. "U.S. Support For Gun Control Tops 2-1, Highest Ever, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Let Dreamers Stay, 80 Percent Of Voters Say," Quinnipiac University Poll, February 20, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/34212?t=15&akid=200986%2E10220574%2EORAaKO

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.

Contributions to MoveOn.org Civic Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. This email was sent to Eddie Alfaro on March 10th, 2018. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.