Friend,

Uvalde. Buffalo. Parkland. Sutherland Springs. Las Vegas. Orlando. San Bernadino. Newtown.

These communities are just a few of the hundreds devastated by preventable gun violence, and all of these tragedies have one thing in common: All were carried out using an AR-15 assault rifle.

These weapons of war have no place in our communities. In recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Month, we ask that you take five minutes and write to your lawmakers to urge them to restore the assault weapons ban.

There have been more mass shootings in the United States in 2023 than there have been days of the year. And every day Congress fails to act, another community is ripped apart.

Commonsense gun safety legislation is necessary. That’s why we all must call on the Senate to come together and restore the assault weapons ban—to save children’s lives, educators’ lives, and the lives of our family, friends and neighbors.

Study after study shows an overwhelming number of Americans want commonsense gun safety and violence prevention reforms. Republicans, Democrats and Independents have been calling for commonsense gun violence policies to make it harder for people who would do harm to get their hands on a deadly weapon.

Students deserve safe and welcoming schools, and parents need to know their children are safe. Educators deserve to be able to teach; they should not be forced to be human shields to protect their students. Community members deserve to know their schools, stores and places of worship are safe. This is a public health crisis.

Enough is enough. Congress must act. Click here and tell our lawmakers to restore the assault weapons ban and help end gun violence now.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President

P.S. This weekend is Wear Orange Weekend, when we wear orange to remember those we’ve lost to gun violence. Please wear orange this weekend and post photos to social media with the hashtags #WearOrange and #EndGunViolence.