Friend — once again, Sen. Mitch McConnell and the NRA are preventing critical legislation from passing that could help save people’s lives.

Earlier this year the House passed a bill that would allocate $50 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research gun violence for the first time since 1996.

Now, there’s no question America has a gun violence problem. Children are being gunned down in classrooms, women are being shot and killed by serial domestic abusers, and the NRA’s influence over the Republican party has prevented even the most common-sense gun reforms from becoming law.

Luckily, we have an opportunity to tell Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans how we feel about their inaction. Will you join me in demanding the Senate fund gun violence research right now?

What does it say about a country when it can't even protect its children from being gunned down in school? What does it say about a country where it’s easier to buy a gun in some places than it is to vote? What does it say about a country where gun manufacturers and their lobbyists can derail any efforts to protect its citizens from gun violence? I can tell you it’s nothing good.

The only way we can make progress is if we band together and demand it. And right now we have an opportunity to do just that. Will you sign our petition demanding Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans fund gun violence research? >>

— Yvette