Friends -

The goal of the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill is to make transformative investments in our families and our futures. You’ve probably heard a lot about ideas like infrastructure, the child tax credit or aggressive climate action, but I wanted to let you know that there’s one priority investment I am pushing that hasn’t gotten as much attention - an investment in programs aimed at reducing gun violence.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve seen a tragic surge in gun violence. Our country is living through the highest rate of gun homicides in two decades.

This is a public health crisis, and one that disproportionately impacts low-income communities. When you look at the driving forces of gun violence, one critical factor is poverty. Your risk of experiencing violence increases the poorer you are.

The data tells us that if we invest in programs that provide pathways out of poverty to young people that are trapped in cycles of violence, we can reduce the risk of gun violence. Of course we still need to change our nation’s gun laws to take illegal guns off the streets, but these intervention programs do work. And so that’s why I’m pushing my colleagues to go big and include in the Build Back Better Bill a $5 billion investment in community violence intervention programs.

Will you sign my petition to call on Congress to include $5 billion for community violence intervention programs in the Build Back Better bill? My colleagues need to hear that this investment in ending gun violence is important to you.

This is an important step we can take toward addressing the public health crisis of gun violence.

Community violence intervention programs use evidence-based approaches to wrap services around at-risk youth. This can include things like hiring “violence interrupters” who develop relationships with those most at-risk of shooting or being shot and help case manage their path away from violence. Linking these young people up with substance use treatment, housing, or job training, helps address some of the root causes of violence.

We have lots of example programs that have proven highly effective, like Project Longevity here in Connecticut. What’s missing is a serious investment from Congress to provide the resources that match the scale of the gun violence crisis. The Build Back Better bill can change that, but I need your help to make sure this is in the final bill.

Please add your name today to tell Congress to include $5 billion for community violence intervention programs in the Build Back Better bill. This is critical if we’re going to get serious about addressing our nation’s gun violence epidemic.

Thank you in advance for adding your voice to mine.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy

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