Our hearts broke once again last week after one of the most deadly mass shootings in American history shattered the community of Lewiston, Maine.¹

The gunman used an AR-15 style rifle, as in nearly all mass shootings.²The shootings took place Wednesday night at a bowling alley that was hosting a children's bowling league and at a nearby restaurant.³A total of 18 people are dead, and 13 people were injured—several critically.⁴

For two frightening days, large swaths of Southern Maine remained in lockdown, with schools and businesses closed. The gunman's body was found Friday night.⁵

John, no other developed country in the world faces levels of gun violence as high as we do.⁶ It doesn't have to be this way. Commonsense gun control works—as individual U.S. states and countries all around the world have shown.⁷

As author Stephen King, who lives in Maine, said on Thursday morning, "It's the rapid-fire killing machines, people. This is madness in the name of freedom. Stop electing apologists for murder."⁸

But some Republicans in Congress want to name the AR-15 the "national firearm."⁹ The new House speaker, Mike Johnson, is a shill for the NRA.¹⁰ Republicans in Congress wear pins with AR-15s on their lapels to mock efforts to pass gun safety laws. Republicans in Congress stand in the way of ALL commonsense gun safety bills—even research by government agencies on gun violence.¹¹

But we can finally make change and pass gun safety laws—including an assault weapons ban, which President Joe Biden has long supported.¹² Here's how:

Right now, there are 18 vulnerable House Republicans who stand in the way of protecting our bowling alleys, restaurants, schools, places of worship, grocery stores, movie theaters, concerts, communities, and even our own homes. These 18 Republicans represent districts that President Biden won in 2020—meaning we can defeat them next year, if we come together to make it happen.

There is a clear path forward to defeating these GOP obstructionists, and MoveOn has made the decision to go all in to ensure they lose in 2024, giving Democrats control of the House and the ability to pass gun legislation. We'll explain the plan below, but first we need to ask if you can donate $5 a month to power this lifesaving work.

We call these members of Congress the "Complicit Caucus": 18 Republicans who won their seats by narrow margins in 2022 in districts that President Biden won in 2020. During their campaigns, they all pretended to be moderates who would put their constituents over their party, but they have voted in lockstep with MAGA extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene and new House Speaker Mike Johnson.

These Republican representatives all represent purple and even blue districts—with constituents who overwhelmingly support commonsense gun laws—and if we can defeat just five of them, we will flip control of the House, paving the way for Democrats to not just pass gun safety laws but also codify the right to an abortion, protect Social Security and Medicare, and do so much more.

So how are we going to defeat them? By doing what MoveOn does best: building grassroots power in each of these districts, led by MoveOn members themselves.

This is the grassroots, shoe-leather work that is pivotal in building the power needed to defeat these candidates in 2024. Will you chip in $5 a month to power this work through Election Day?

John, at the time of this writing, 35,479 lives have been lost in the U.S. to gun violence in 2023.¹³ Sadly, by the time you read this, that number will be higher.

And Americans across age, class, and political party are all aligned in calling for change.

A full 80% of Americans—including 71% of Republicans!—support universal background checks for all gun sales.¹⁴

And strong majorities support everything from banning assault weapons and extended magazines to red flag laws and raising taxes on ammunition.¹⁵

Every single day that the GOP-led Congress refuses to act, they are endangering our lives and violating the will of the voters, and it is far past time that they are held accountable for it.

MoveOn is working to ensure that happens, but as a member-led organization, we can do it only with your support.

Please, if you are able, rush a gift of $5 a month—or whatever you can afford.

Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile," filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into 2024, we need your help.

Will you start a monthly gift to power our critical work?

Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.

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