Tell Congress to stop protecting the gun industry!
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Dear Friend,

It’s Gun Violence Awareness month, when it is time to wear orange to build
public awareness of gun violence in our nation so we can help stop it.
There’s one aspect of guns and gun violence that critically needs
awareness this June: The role firearms have played (and continue to play)
in violating civil rights, making all of us less equal and less free.

From the dawn of America’s history, firearms have been used to dominate,
oppress, and subjugate in discriminatory ways – first as guns were turned
against indigenous and enslaved people in action and in law, and then as
guns disproportionately harmed Black and other minority populations
through the Jim Crow era all the way to the present day. The immovable
political opposition to comprehensive anti-gun-violence policy reform
continues that shameful, discriminatory history. 

[ [link removed] ]For too long, far right Republican lawmakers have shielded the gun
industry from lawsuits, absolving them of responsibility for their role in
spreading gun violence, including sowing racial fear and encouraging
aggression against minority communities in order to sell more guns.
Congress must stop protecting the gun industry and repeal PLCAA
(Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) now!

The gun industry and its NRA allies have been spectacularly successful in
fueling and exploiting fears and anxieties around race in order to sell
firearms.

* NRA leaders have perpetuated racist terminology like “black-on-black
crime,” falsely equating men of color as “thugs,” and harmfully
referred to communities of color as “violent inner cities.” In fact,
the absolutely wrong idea of the “dangerous black man” was a regular
part of former NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s
stump speech. [1]
* A 2021 cover of Firearms News, under the theme “Be Ready,” toxically
reinforced racist stereotypes by showing a man protecting his family
with a rifle aimed at a presumably Latino person waving a skateboard
(click the footnote links to see the actual images). [ [link removed] ]
* In an outrageous 2008 NRA direct mail piece, seven out of the 10
mugshots were of people of color, and asked the following racist
question: “Will these Criminal Aliens cost YOU your Second Amendment
rights???” [ [link removed] ]

The gun industry has perpetuated the unequal burden of gun violence on
non-white and minority communities. Black people are 10 times [ [link removed] ] more
likely to experience gun violence than whites, Latinos are twice as likely
[ [link removed] ] to be shot to death than whites, and LGBTQ+ people are more than twice
as likely to be a victim of gun violence than their cisgender and straight
peers. [ [link removed] ]

[2]Congress must let us hold weapons makers and dealers accountable! Tell
Congress to stop protecting the gun industry and repeal the Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA)!

Guns and gun violence are a deadly burden unequally shared, but everyone
is impacted – every single one of us. One in five Americans [ [link removed] ] have
direct [3]experience of gun violence, and guns have become the leading
cause of child death. [ [link removed] ] Guns make all of us less free by exacerbating
many of the issues we struggle with as a society, including:

Health Care: Each year in the U.S., firearm-related injuries lead to [ [link removed] ]
roughly 30,000 inpatient hospital stays and 50,000 emergency room visits,
generating more than $1 billion in initial medical costs and making health
care more expensive for all of us. Medical spending increases an average
of $2,500 per person per month [ [link removed] ] in the year following the injury, with
patients likely to require continuing care around [4]mental health and
[5]substance use disorders, adding to the health care burden.

Mental Health: The never-ending parade of news headlines about gun
violence only adds to our fear and anxiety. Our children are already in
the middle of a mental health crisis. Feelings of anxiety and stress,
which get in the way of learning, are made worse by the fact that students
are regularly reminded by active shooter drills at school that they are
not safe. [ [link removed] ]

Immigration: The free flow of American firearms from U.S. gun
manufacturers to Central and South America has fueled the violence pushing
people out of their homes. Anti-immigrant sentiment is flaring in our
country, escalating the likelihood of hate and violence against those who
don’t “look American.” [ [link removed] ]

[6]This June, let’s fully recognize that gun violence is a civil rights
issue. We need to see with eyes wide open how guns and extreme gun culture
are enemies of democracy, and begin dismantling the infrastructure
facilitating that, starting with a repeal of PLCAA. Tell Congress to stop
protecting the gun industry and repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce
in Arms Act (PLCAA)!

As millions of guns continue to be sold into our communities and homes, we
are living our lives in a rising ocean of firearms. The sheer number of
guns around us and the bullying and deadly culture around gun ownership
are steadily eroding our personal and public safety, and worsening our
struggles to be equal and free. 

Guns and gun violence are holding back our nation’s journey to a more just
and perfect union. It’s long past time to change that.

Please forward this message to everyone you know who wants accountability
from the gun industry and ask them to [7]sign too.

We’ll never stop fighting for freedom and justice for all, and for the
safety of our families and communities!

In solidarity,

Gloria, Kristin, Jessica, Monifa, and the whole MomsRising.org &
MamásConPoder Team

References:
[1] “[8]We know the NRA’s history. Yes, it’s racist,” CSGV Medium, Sept.
28, 2017.
[2] “[9]The Gun Industry Created a New Consumer. Now It’s Killing Us,” The
Atlantic, July 2022.
[3] “[10]How the Firearms Industry and NRA Market Guns to Communities of
Color,” The Violence Policy Center.
[4] “[11]Gun violence is a racial justice issue,” Brady.
[5] Ibid.
[6] “[12]Facts And Statistics About The Impact Of Gun Violence On LGBTQ+
People,” Sandy Hook Promise.
[7] “[ [link removed] ]UChicago Harris/AP-NORC Poll: About 1 in 5 Americans Say Gun
Violence Has Touched Their Lives and Even More Fear Being a Victim,”
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Aug. 22, 2022.
[8] “[ [link removed] ]Childhood’s Greatest Danger: The Data on Kids and Gun Violence,”
The New York Times Magazine, Dec. 14, 2022.
[9] “[ [link removed] ]Firearm Injuries: Health Care Service Needs and Costs,” U.S.
Government Accountability Office, Jun. 16, 2021.
[10] “[ [link removed] ]Changes in Health Care Spending, Use, and Clinical Outcomes
After Nonfatal Firearm Injuries Among Survivors and Family Members: A
Cohort Study,” Annals of Internal Medicine, Apr. 5, 2022.
[11] “[ [link removed] ]Active Shooter Drills: First, Do No Harm,” American Psychiatric
Association Foundation, May 2, 2022.
[12] “[ [link removed] ]US-made guns are ripping Central America apart and driving
migration north,” The Guardian, Apr. 16, 2021.


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