Tulsa, Uvalde, Buffalo. The news of unspeakable gun violence is excruciating and unceasing. Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in America. [1] Yet, there are members of Congress who still insist that guns should be everywhere and resist life-saving legislation, even as over 200 mass shootings have already happened in 2022 [2] and lives are being lost to guns each day.

Unbelievably and unconscionably, those same members of Congress even continue to doggedly defend the “gun rights” of everyone to have all types of guns everywhere, even as heartbreaking funerals of the fourth graders in Uvalde, and the tragic memorial services in Buffalo, are taking place.

It’s time for all of us to make sure our leaders hear us loud and clear that we cannot bear another day of wondering if our child or loved one will be the next victim of gun violence.

There are now more guns than people in our nation. [3] “Guns everywhere,” without any substantive gun safety policies in place to protect our communities and children, has made it easy for any would-be mass shooter to access firearms and enables them to go ahead and shoot, whether from murderous intent or mundane boredom. We need tighter gun control to begin dismantling the extreme “guns everywhere” culture, which means advancing gun safety policies like comprehensive background checks, “red flag” laws, safe storage, and bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

Right now Congress is discussing whether and what gun control legislation to move forward. It is critical that they hear from their constituents now that we expect immediate and strong action to the carnage, devastation, and tragedy – too often fueled by hate – that has become an everyday occurrence in our country.

Is there hope for legislative change? Yes! We are hearing that there are serious bipartisan talks happening and we may have an opening to finally pass some significant gun control legislation, but it won’t be easy. Next week we are expecting a vote in the House on the Omnibus Protect our Kids Act (HR7910). There could potentially be a Senate vote next week too.

America’s families do not want to raise our children in a country with so much violence, where our children are not safe, where mass shootings are commonplace, where there are more guns than people and no significant community safety measures. We and our children deserve better.

And please forward to your friends and family to make sure they raise their voices too!

- Gloria, Donna, Kristin, Nate, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

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