I've spent the last 50 days traveling across the country, along with other people affected by gun violence, to sites of modern mass shootings.
We ended the tour yesterday at a church in Charleston, SC where a white supremacist murdered 9 people in a racially motivated hate crime.
It’s 8 years later and our communities are still being ripped apart by mass shooters fueled by hate and extremism.
In every single place we visited, one thing was abundantly clear: People are sick and tired of gun profits being put over human lives.
We CAN overcome the gun lobby – but ONLY if we come together to hold politicans accountable. There are still 56(!!) Senators who REFUSE to co-sponor the assault weapons ban. I need your help to kick every single one who won’t stand against the gun lobby out of office. I’m counting on 350 gifts before midnight to fund our campaign to elect gun safety champions, fight for a federal assault weapons ban, and defeat cowardly lawmakers who stand by while we see record numbers of gun violence. Will you pitch in $15 right now to help? >>
Thank you,
Sam
— Original Message —
I’m about to tell you about the important work I’m doing this summer to end mass shootings – and what it means for me. But if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, will you chip in $15 before you sign off? It’ll mean the world to me to know you’re fighting alongside me for a federal assault weapons ban as I travel from state to state to pressure our lawmakers into finally passing it. >>
Five years ago my best friend and cousin, Alex Schachter, was slaughtered alongside 16 others in school at Parkland, Florida.
Instead of picking him up from college for the summer, my Uncle Max just picked up his backpack, sealed in a box with a biohazard label.
Authorities said that the label meant the bag is covered in Alex’s blood and could be riddled with bullets from the AR-15 that the shooter used to murder him.
Alex and Me
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No family should have to know this kind of pain, but our story is all too common.
That’s why I’m spending my summer traveling from coast to coast with other family members impacted by mass shootings – from the site of one modern mass shooting to another – because it’s far past time for Congress to step up and act.
Speaking to press in Orlando, FL, where 49 people were killed at Pulse Nightclub
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If you agree that Congress can’t wait any longer to pass the federal assault weapons ban, can you chip in $15 to keep the pressure on? We need 526 more supporters to join our fight before midnight to PROVE to these lawmakers that they MUST take action now. So, will you rush $15? Every dollar goes to ousting cowardly lawmakers who put guns over our lives. >>
Since the bus left Parkland, Florida, at the start of July, there have been 38 more mass shootings.
Since we left, 1,100 more innocent lives have been stolen at the barrel of a gun.
Only in America can you take a tour of mass shooting sites and have dozens more appear along the way.
It doesn’t have to be this way. But we cannot afford to wait any longer for our elected officials to act. We NEED more gun safety champions in the halls of power – our very lives DEPEND on it. That’s why I’m calling on a SURGE of support – 526 folks fighting with us before midnight – to send cowardly lawmakers a message LOUD AND CLEAR that we won’t stand for their inaction any longer. Can you confirm you’re with me by chipping in $15? >>
Thank you for all you do,
Sam Schwartz
Gun safety activist and cousin of Alex Schachter