John, did you catch this headline?
This week, President Obama called for the elimination of the filibuster: an arcane rule in the Senate that requires a supermajority of 60 votes, instead of 51, to pass nearly any bill. Our movement knows all too well the dangers of this rule. It's what stopped Congress from passing lifesaving gun reform legislation following the Sandy Hook massacre.
They were 54 votes in favor and 46 against — clearly a simple majority! But the 60-vote rule stopped Congress from acting even after 26 students and educators were shot and killed.
Enough is enough. Why do we need a 60-vote threshold to pass a bill that will save American lives? Fifty-one is the majority, and 51 is fair.
We’re not asking for a lot. We’re simply calling for a simple majority vote — fair and square — to pass lifesaving, evidence-based policy solutions to end gun violence. There’s no excuse for senseless gun violence, especially when legislative solutions have been sitting before Mitch McConnell and the U.S. Senate for over 500 days!
We need to let every Senator know that #51IsFair and gun violence is a national emergency. Tell your Senators: #51IsFair, and we deserve a simple majority vote to pass laws and free our country from gun violence!
TELL YOUR SENATOR #51IsFair
Team ENOUGH Lobbying Collective Applications are OPEN!
Lobbying for gun reform. Getting loud in the halls of power. Meeting with both sides of the aisle.
Gun violence hasn't stopped during the coronavirus pandemic, and neither will our advocacy! Team ENOUGH, Brady's youth-led initiative, is accepting applications for the Fall 2020 Lobbying Collectives in Florida, California, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
From coast to coast, our Team ENOUGH Lobby Collectives train students and young people on how to effectively lobby legislators in their state capitals and in Congress. They plan their advocacy, target key lawmakers, and then get loud in the halls of power! Apply by Wednesday, August 19, and share with the youth activists you know!
Tell Gov. DeWine You #StandWithOhio — Reject Stand Your Ground Laws!
John, even if you don't live in Ohio, we need to hear your voice.
Right now, lawmakers in Ohio are planning to secretly push dangerous and discriminatory “Stand Your Ground” legislation while our nation is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Stand Your Ground laws are essentially a license to murder. Using the guise of “self-defense,” they allow anyone to use lethal force, anywhere at any time. Time and again, we see how they fuel gun homicides — especially homicides of Black Americans, like Trayvon Martin in Florida and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.
But that's why we formed a national coalition of civil rights, racial justice, and gun violence prevention groups to mobilize against Stand Your Ground! Our goal is to get 100,000 signatures in the next 44 days to let Gov. DeWine know the entire nation is watching — and we're demanding that he reject any Stand Your Ground bill that comes to his desk. Add your name to our petition and let Gov. DeWine know you're watching!
ADD YOUR NAME
Brady Legal was litigating for victims and survivors of gun violence across the country this week —
Taking Action Against Armslist.com, an Online Gun Marketplace
On Wednesday, July 29, Brady Legal was in “Zoom court” in Boston arguing Stokinger v. Armslist on behalf of a Boston police officer who was shot and severely injured with a firearm sold on Armslist.com. In federal court in Wisconsin, Brady Legal also filed a brief challenging Armslist in another case, Bauer v. Armlist, on behalf of Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer, who was shot and killed with a firearm that was trafficked through Armslist.com.
Holding Glock Inc. Accountable
Yesterday, in Arizona, Brady Legal filed another opposition to a motion to dismiss in our product liability case against Glock Inc. in Travieso v. Glock. Our case is on behalf of our client who was left permanently paralyzed when he was unintentionally shot by a teenager with a firearm, which was designed and sold without numerous safety features and warnings.
How to Litigate and Win Cases Against the Gun Industry
Last Friday, July 24, attorneys from Brady Legal led a Continued Legal Education (CLE) webinar for trial lawyers across the country with Trial Guides. In the series, Jonathan Lowy, chief counsel at Brady and one of America's top lawyers, and Erin Davis, senior counsel, trial & appellate litigation, reviewed how to litigate and win cases against the gun industry. Learn more!
Keep up to date with Brady Legal by subscribing to their monthly newsletter!
Lawmakers in California Advance Legislation to Protect Consumers and Aid Law Enforcement
Since May, Brady California has been advocating for AB 2847, a bill that would require new-model handguns to be designed and equipped with microstamping technology. Microstamping helps investigators identify shooters and gun traffickers, apprehend them before they do more harm, and hold them accountable.
Microstamping has been the law in California since 2007, but the gun industry has effectively boycotted it for the last 13 years. They’ve literally refused to sell new model handguns since the law took effect.
But because of dedicated grassroots supporters like you, we sent over 13,000 total messages, and just yesterday, lawmakers passed this lifesaving legislation out of committee! We are now one step closer to making microstamping a reality in California.
We'll keep you updated on our progress in California. In the meantime, share our graphic on Facebook!
We're joined by Kelly Sampson, legal counsel at Brady, and D. Brian Burghart, a journalist who is also the founder and executive director of Fatal Encounters. Fatal Encounters is a project devoted to creating a comprehensive national database of people who are killed through interactions with police. Together, JJ, Kelly, and Brian talk about why it took a journalist to start such a database, how this information can save police and civilians, and what the statistics say about police-involved killings and the disparate impact they have on Black communities in America. Listen now!
We’re thanking Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) for tirelessly fighting to secure lifesaving funding for research into preventing gun violence. Last summer, she joined our award-winning #WeNeedToKnow campaign to call on Congress to fund gun violence research at the CDC and NIH. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce, she was instrumental in securing this federal funding for the first time in more than 20 years. And just this week, Rep. Kelly's amendment to add an additional $5 million to research gun violence was adopted!
Last year, following the deadliest summer in U.S history, Rep. Robin Kelly joined Brady and a coalition of survivors, Rep. John Lewis, and Rep. David Cicilline in a sit-in to ask for a meeting with Sen. McConnell, demanding he pass legislation to strengthen and expand the Brady Background Check System. We know with Rep. Kelly on our side, we will end the epidemic of gun violence!
Send Rep. Kelly a Tweet thanking her for her leadership!
Congressman Lewis warned us in his essay that we must use our right to vote, ‘because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.’ We must remain clear in that fact and focused on expanding our democracy this November.”
Our work is made possible by grassroots supporters like you.
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