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Friend,
This isn’t the email I wanted to write.
Over the last two weeks, our movement showed up. Together, we made more than 800 phone calls to key legislators. We sent thousands of emails. Faith leaders pleaded for lawmakers to treat life as sacred. Doctors asked for some relief from treating bullet wounds in adults, teenagers, and children.
So many of you poured your pain, grief, anger, energy, and hope into the work of passing four critical gun safety measures on the House floor. With these bills, our elected leaders had an opportunity to save lives, prevent mass shootings, and help give law enforcement a fighting chance against people who wish to do us harm.
They failed to do so.
Measures that would have created Extreme Risk Protection Orders and banned untraceable firearms in Pennsylvania failed by a single vote. Friend, our movement came up short today . While I am thankful that a bipartisan bill that closes loopholes in the state’s background check law passed, that passage was the absolute bare minimum our legislators could do.
There’s no purpose in trying to give you false comfort, so I’m going to be direct : More people will be harmed. Because our legislators voted “no” on Extreme Risk Protection Orders and a ban on untraceable firearms, more Pennsylvanians will die from gun violence.
Voting “no” was a vote for more suicides by firearm, more plastic guns in our schools, and more police officers in mortal danger at the scene of domestic violence calls. Voting “no” made our homes, our schools, our communities more dangerous. Voting “no” put gun industry profits ahead of our lives and safety.
Now, we have two choices: We can let the defeat of this moment destroy our hope for a future free from gun violence. Or we can allow our anger at the political games, the cowardice, and the lost lives serve as fuel as we get back up and keep fighting.
We are right to be angry, friend. We’re angry at the lives lost. We’re angry that some politicians ignored evidence, passionate testimonies, and their own consciences to vote against our safety. I am honestly sickened that 102 members of the Pennsylvania House refused to make us safer.
If you feel the call to do something to prevent the next needless tragedy, this is the time to step up as a volunteer. For returning volunteers, now is the time to double down, because I promise you that’s what the gun industry is doing.
Friend, join us for a critical, all-hands volunteer call next week to discuss next steps. We’ll be hosting calls on Tuesday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 9, so register for whichever date works best for you. [[link removed]]
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I know this was a long email, and I appreciate you taking the time to read it all the way through.
I am truly blessed to do this work every day with you. I genuinely believe we can build a Pennsylvania where it’s safe to play outside, get to know your neighbors, worship, go to school, and watch a parade without having to listen for gunshots . In that future, even when times are hard or we have disagreements, we won’t have to worry about losing our lives or loved ones to a bullet. And I know each member of the CeaseFirePA team feels exactly the same way.
We deserve freedom from gun violence, and I’ll never stop fighting for that future.
Thank you for being a part of this movement.
In community,
Adam Garber
Executive Director
CeaseFirePA
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CeaseFirePA
CeaseFirePA
P.O. Box 60095
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States
215-923-3151 | [email protected] [[email protected]]
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