Coronavirus is an urgent, immediate crisis that we cannot ignore - but it's not the only one we should be paying attention to right now. The gun violence epidemic is still raging - and, sadly, it's getting worse.

This past March, the United States experienced its first March since 2002 without a school shooting, as most schools moved to remote attendance. But May quickly revealed a sobering reality: The month set a record for the most mass shootings - 59 - since experts started collecting data in 2013. Horrifyingly, June just shattered May's record by more than 50%.

To experts, the rise in gun violence isn't surprising, as lax gun laws and coronavirus panic have led to the purchase of millions of new guns. Mass shootings aren't the only type of gun violence to worry about during this pandemic. Having a gun in the home means a gun can go off in the home, and many experts expect to see a rise in domestic gun violence, firearm suicides, and accidental family gun deaths.

As more and more people are isolated socially and financially with their abusers, domestic violence has increased. What makes this particularly worrisome? Having a gun in the home increases the likelihood an abuser will murder a female victim by 500%.

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Furthermore, many experts worry that social isolation and economic hardship could lead to a rise in suicides and attempted suicides. Scientific American reports that "pandemic-related gun purchases raise suicide risks."

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More guns are entering homes, which is a dangerous problem while children cannot attend school and have more chances to accidentally or intentionally fire a gun. Everytown for Gun Safety found that "unintentional shooting deaths by children increased by over 30% in March through May 2020, compared to the March-May average of the past three years."

Even with gun violence getting worse, the NRA and its bought-and-paid-for politicians like Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are cruelly choosing inaction and gun industry profits over saving lives. That's why we need to hold them accountable. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, we can take action to save lives from gun violence - especially when data shows gun violence is getting tragically worse.

Taking on the gun lobby isn't easy, but that's why we need to fight back against the NRA's puppets in DC. We must take action to legislate unregulated and do-it-yourself "ghost guns," pass extreme risk protection orders, require guns to be securely stored, ban domestic abusers from ever purchasing a firearm, and fund gun violence prevention.

Please, will you sign our petition demanding Mitch McConnell take action to pass universal background checks - the bare minimum measure to save lives - that 97% of people in this country want?

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Thanks for joining us in this fight to save lives.

Stephen



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