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Friends,

The House passed a universal background checks bill 244 days ago.

In those 244 days, El Paso and Virginia Beach experienced two of the deadliest mass shootings in our country’s history. Just this weekend, two people were shot and killed at a homecoming party near Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Countless lives lost, futures cut short, communities ravaged. And while Mitch McConnell has had 244 days to bring background checks up for a vote in the Senate, he has done absolutely nothing.

This week, we’re focusing our Off the Sidelines Spotlight on the fight for meaningful gun safety reforms and how we can hold our elected officials accountable.

Thank you,
Stefanie
Gun violence in America is an epidemic. According to the Giffords Law Center:
  • The U.S. gun suicide rate is 10 times higher than that of other high-income countries

  • The US. gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than that of other high-income countries

  • Firearms are the second leading cause of death for American children and teens and the first leading cause of death for black children and teens

  • Women in the U.S. are 21 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other high-income countries
Earlier this year, the House passed HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would have closed the federal loophole that allows felons, domestic abusers, fugitives and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns from unlicensed sellers without a background check.

Despite an August poll that found that more than 90 percent of Americans—regardless of party affiliation—support universal background checks, Mitch McConnell refuses to bring the bill up for a simple yes/no vote in the Senate.
 
READ | Everytown for Gun Safety’s fact sheet on the power of background checks to save lives  
 
WATCH | MSNBC's profile of Rep. Lucy McBath, who ran for Congress in 2018 after losing her son, Jordan, to gun violence  
 
READ | This article about how guns and domestic violence are much more lethal for women of color  
 
READ | Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's powerful op-ed about the gun lobby’s chokehold on Congress  
 
LISTEN | To this five-part podcast from Vermont Public Radio on how a Republican governor in a rural state changed his mind on gun laws  
58 percent of American adults, or someone they care for, have experienced gun violence in their lifetime—and unless Congress takes action, that number will continue to rise:
 
Call on Mitch McConnell to allow the Senate to vote on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and enact common sense gun safety reforms.

You can also get more involved in the fight to end gun violence through one of the many organizations working on the front lines. Here are just a few:
 
DONATE
 
Paid for by Gillibrand for Senate
Contributions or gifts to Off the Sidelines PAC are not tax-deductible. Off the Sidelines PAC does not accept contributions from federal lobbyists, corporate and/or trade association PACs, or "for profit" business entities, including but not limited to sole proprietorships, partnerships, and LLCs.

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