Friend,
This time of year is one of celebration for many communities. Pride Month starts at the beginning of June to uplift the LGBTQIA community and Juneteenth falls on June 19, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America.
But at a time when we should be celebrating, we cannot avoid that June has also become a month of devastating anniversaries of hate-motivated mass shootings.
On June 12, we marked eight years since the Pulse nightclub shooting, one of the deadliest in modern American history, that killed 49 people and injured 53 others in Florida. Next week, on June 17, it will be nine years since the Charleston Church shooting where a white supremacist killed nine people and injured one other who were attending bible study at a historic Black church in the South.
Both of these tragic events were motivated by hate. And in recent years, hate crimes have been on the rise: Between 2020-2021, anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes increased by 70 percent, and in 2022, there were 3,424 hate crimes reported against Black people in the United States — more than any other demographic group. And when hate is coupled with easy access to firearms, that hate can turn deadly. Each year, over 10,300 people are victims of hate crimes involving a firearm — and those are just the ones we know about.
But we don’t have to accept this as our reality. We don’t have to watch as our months of celebration or our days of joy become further marked by tragedy.
We can instead take action now to change hate-motivated gun violence in America by telling Congress to pass the Disarm Hate Act. While we won’t be able to instantly change the minds of others, we can keep guns out of the hands of those convicted of hate crimes and from those who would use them to harm others.
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| The Supreme Court Upholds the Decision in Garland v. Cargill |
On Friday, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Garland v. Cargill, upholding the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to strike down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule that would regulate the production, sale, and possession of bump stocks — devices that enable semiautomatic firearms to be converted into machine guns. In a 6-3 decision, Justices wrote that they upheld the appeal because “bump stocks are not machine guns as defined by law.”
Following the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, where the shooter used a bump stock to kill 60 people and shoot over 400 others, the ATF issued a rule clarifying that bump stocks count as machineguns and therefore should be regulated as such. Now, bump stocks can be bought, sold, and possessed once again, putting machine guns back into the hands of civilians across the country.
Ultimately, friend, this decision has put American lives in danger. But we can take action now. Congress can pass a bill to close the bump stock loophole and regulate bump stocks just like machine guns. Use your voice NOW to urge lawmakers to support this bill and bring it to a vote.
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Save the Date: June 21st is ASK Day! |
It’s that time of the year again: Summer break is almost here and so is ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day!
ASK Day is June 21, the first day of summer, when kids typically spend more time at home and at the homes of friends and family. Parents ask all types of safety questions before their children visit another home. ASK Day is when we remind parents, guardians, and caretakers to add one more question: “Is there an unlocked gun where my child plays?” Every year, thousands of kids are injured or killed as a result of unsecured firearms. That’s why we’re calling on supporters like you to recognize ASK Day by asking about unsecured firearms in the home and spreading this life-saving message.
To see an example of what you can do to recognize ASK Day, check out this letter to the editor that our Westchester co-lead Maryann wrote to the Pelham Enquirer. In the letter, she talks about how all of us can have a role in preventing unintentional shootings, and how asking about firearms in the house can become routine. If you want to follow in Maryann’s footsteps, use our ASK Day toolkit to write your own letter or share the ASK Day message on social media. |
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Join us in Celebrating Father’s Day! |
Brady
840 First Street, NE
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20002
United States
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