Tell Mitch McConnell: Stop blocking gun control

 In El Paso, Texas. Nine were killed and 27 were injured

The petition to Mitch McConnell reads: "Our country's gun violence epidemic demands action. Call the Senate back from recess to vote on H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act." Add your name:

Our country's epidemic of gun violence demands action, but Republican politicians only offer their thoughts and prayers.This weekend, a white supremacist killed twenty people and injured dozens in El Paso, Texas. Nine were killed and 27 were injured in Dayton, Ohio. Three were killed and 40 were injured in Chicago, Illinois. Thoughts and prayers won't stop the next mass shooting or do anything meaningful to address the gun violence epidemic. Congress needs to act. In February, the House of Representatives passed two bills to close major loopholes in gun purchase background checks,1 but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won't bring them to the floor of the Senate for a vote. It's time to put massive pressure on him to act. Tell Sen. McConnell: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. Call the Senate back into session for a vote on gun control now. Click here to sign the petition. Tragic mass shootings have become all too common – and they're getting deadlier. Since the fall of 2017, we have had four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history.2 And while these mass shootings receive more media attention, we cannot forget the gun violence that strikes people, families and communities across the country on a daily basis, killing almost 8,800 and injuring almost 17,500 so far this year.3 Earlier this year in New Zealand, after a gunman shot and killed 50 people at two mosques, it took lawmakers just three days to pass legislation banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. We need that legislation too, and Democrats in the House of Representatives should take the lead and pass it, but we can't let the Senate off the hook. The House has already passed two good bills that would help keep guns out of the hands of people who would be a danger to themselves or others. They deserve an up-or-down vote in the Senate but won't get one unless we put massive grassroots pressure on McConnell and his fellow Republicans and start breaking the NRA's chokehold on Congress. Senate Democrats are demanding that McConnell bring the Senate back into session to vote on H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112.4 Can you help amplify their call? Tell Sen. McConnell: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. Call the Senate back into session for a vote on gun control now. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Background_Check_Senate_Vote?t=9&akid=33470%2E3130208%2EEHsFYV - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Brakkton Booker and Martin Kaste, "House Passes Second Gun Background Check Bill In As Many Days," Feb. 28, 2019. Dave Lawler and Orion Rummler, "The deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history," Axios, Aug. 4, 2019. "Gun Violence Archive 2019," accessed Aug. 4, 2019. Rebecca Klar, "Democrats call for Senate to return to vote on gun reform after two deadly mass shootings," The Hill, Aug. 4, 2019. More Information:  This is the gun control legislation Mitch McConnell won't allow senators to vote on - USA TODAY, August. 4, 2019

Tell Republicans in Congress: Thoughts and prayers are not enough

Detective Barbara J. Mattson with a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle

The petition to Republicans in Congress reads: “Put your constituents before the National Rifle Association. Take immediate action to ban weapons of war, including assault weapons and large capacity magazines, which have no place in the hands of private citizens.” Add your name:

Within hours of Wednesday’s deadly mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school – which took the lives of at least 17 people – Republican politicians without the courage to support real solutions to our gun violence crisis released statements and social media posts offering their “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families.1 It was the exact same cowardly, ineffectual response they offered after gunmen wielding AR-15 assault rifles killed people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a concert in Las Vegas, Pulse nightclub in Orlando and Sandy Hook Elementary School.2 It is time for Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in standing up to the National Rifle Association and pass an assault weapons ban that will save American lives. Tell Republicans in Congress: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need gun control now. Click here to sign the petition. Tragic mass shootings like the one Wednesday in South Florida have become all too common. The last 5 months alone now account for three of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history.3 In the past 5 years, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in the United States4 – including 18 so far in 2018 alone.5 According to Newsweek, “Florida has some of the weakest gun laws in the country.” Gun owners are not required to have a license, they are not required to register their guns and it is perfectly legal to own semi-automatic assault rifles like the one used in Wednesday’s tragic shooting.6 The heartbreaking truth is that the combination of weak state and federal gun laws made Wednesday’s horrific attack possible. Tell Republicans in Congress: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need gun control now. Click here to sign the petition. There’s one reason why politicians consistently fail to take real action on gun violence: The National Rifle Association. The NRA has a chokehold on Congress that keeps most bills about gun control from even coming to the floor for a vote. Politicians beholden to – or afraid of – the NRA are willing to turn their backs on their constituents when it comes time to implement reasonable limits and controls on guns. But you can count on them for a “heartbroken” tweet about their “thoughts and prayers” when a tragic shooting makes the national news. Finally breaking the NRA’s chokehold on Congress will require massive grassroots pressure on our elected officials, demanding that they deliver more than thoughts and prayers in the face of our epidemic of gun violence. We must forcefully demand that Congress takes immediate action to ban weapons of war, including assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Please add your name to our emergency petition now. Tell Republicans in Congress: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need gun control now. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/parkland?t=8&akid=27298%2E3130208%2EzI61pD - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: Ed Mazza, "People Sick Of ‘Thoughts And Prayers’ Demand Action After Florida School Shooting," HuffPost, Feb. 15, 2018. Igor Volsky, "Tweet," Twitter, Feb. 14, 2018. The New York Times, "Florida Shooting: Nikolas Cruz Is Charged With 17 Counts of Murder," Feb. 15. 2018. BBC News, "Florida shooting: 'Policy and change' not 'thoughts and prayers,'" Feb. 15. 2018. Meghan Keneally, "There have already been 18 school shootings in the US this year: Everytown," ABC News, Feb. 14, 2018. Chantal Da Silva, "Florida Massacre Survivor Tells Trump: 'I Don't Want Your Condolences,' Demands Gun Control," Newsweek, Feb. 15, 2018.