June is Gun Violence Awareness Month. June is Pride Month.
We have called upon lawmakers to take meaningful action and have made considerable strides in protecting our most vulnerable communities. BUT, the fight is far from over.
Our nation has seen staggering and heartbreaking stories of gun violence scroll through the evening news and pop up on our social media feeds. In 2020, gun violence became the leading killer of kids and teens in this nation. And just yesterday, two people were shot, one fatally, at a Maryland cemetery during the burial of a 10-year-old girl who fell victim to gun violence, and hours later, 2 were killed and 5 more were wounded at a shooting in Virginia during a high school graduation.
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We’ve said it before and we will keep saying it: We do not have to live like this. We do not have to die like this. Since our founding, we have called upon lawmakers to take meaningful action and have made considerable strides in protecting all of us from gun violence, but this year has shown us just how vital this fight is.
Amongst staggering rises in daily gun violence, June is the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting which became the deadliest incident in the history of violence against the queer community in the US. The attacker killed 49 people and wounded 53 on Latin Night. Making it a devastating hate crime. Just last year, an attack at Club Q occurred, where five people were killed, and 25 others were injured. Attacks such as these remove safety from a community that is already experiencing four times the level of violence as their straight peers.
While we’ve played a part in some vital legislative victories in the gun violence prevention movement, 556 pieces of anti-trans legislation have been introduced in 49 states this year alone. And just yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign issued a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. The time to act is now.
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