Hey John, 

Over the last two weeks, this country has seen two horrific, high-profile mass shootings that have revived the national conversation on the urgent need for a public health approach to end the gun violence epidemic in all of its many forms.

On March 16th, a gunman murdered eight people in multiple businesses in the Atlanta area. Six of the victims were Asian, and all but one of the victims were women—a clear example of the toxic forces of anti-Asian racism and misogyny that are experienced by the AAPI community in this country.

A week later, in Boulder, CO, ten people were killed using an AR-15-style weapon in a King Soopers grocery store. Just ten days prior to the shooting, Boulder’s assault weapons ban was blocked in court because of a lawsuit filed by the NRA, despite the fact that Boulder residents had voted to enact the ban three years prior.

During the same week as the shooting in Boulder, 15 people were shot in Chicago. Every day, numerous other cities are also experiencing gun violence. These peaks in shootings are not isolated to just any one city or even just this moment in time. In 2020 alone, an estimated 43,000 people were killed using guns.

These tragedies are preventable. But to end this crisis, we must address the root causes of gun violence and treat the gun violence epidemic as a symptom of a larger issue. We need leadership that will take a stand. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the forces of white supremacy, misogyny, and gun violence that threaten our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and the health of our communities.

Our government must take action NOW to end the gun violence epidemic—and all levels of government have an essential role to play in this effort.

Whether through significant investment in community-based violence intervention programs, common-sense regulations at the state and federal levels, or executive orders from the president—we need all hands on deck.

Email your representatives now to demand they confront the urgency of this issue and take action using a public health approach.

In solidarity,

Hassen Bashir
Advocacy Associate 
Generation Progress

P.S. Don't stop with demanding action on gun violence. Be sure to check out and share these resources and places to donate to combat white supremacy and #StopAsianHate.

• stopaapihate.org
• anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co
• napawf.org/donate
• advancingjustice-aajc.org