Hi John,

This week new FBI data put last year’s surge in violence into perspective: murders increased nearly 30 percent in 2020—the largest jump since record keeping began in 1960. The report also showed that guns drove the historic spike. Seventy-seven percent of all murders in 2020 were carried out with a gun—the highest share ever reported.

What’s worse, data suggests that 2021 is on track to be even deadlier. We cannot sit idly by in the face of this senseless, ceaseless violence.

We have been sounding the alarm since the pandemic began more than 18 months ago. We knew that the resulting economic and social disruption increased the risk of every type of gun violence. We desperately wish that we’d been proven wrong.

In spite of the pandemic, we have continued working day in and day out to put an end to the gun violence crisis in our communities. We are relentlessly holding our lawmakers accountable to ensure that they don’t lose sight of the urgency of this epidemic. We are fighting for funding for our community-based violence intervention partners. And we are pushing for the kind of evidence-based policies we know will work to stop the shootings and save lives.

That’s why I am asking you to make a contribution today to support our lifesaving efforts and help us meet our Quarter 3 fundraising goal. Can you pitch in $25 before midnight tomorrow?

I know we have a winning strategy. And I know that we can make a difference in the fight to end gun violence once and for all. But we can’t do it alone.

Thank you for being on our team,
Maureen (she/her)