| Dear Friend, Right now, a bipartisan group of senators is discussing gun safety reform in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.(1) But unless the Senate votes to end the filibuster, the chance of passing meaningful gun legislation is almost zero. Since the Sandy Hook massacre of 2012, Republicans have filibustered all gun safety over and over again.(2) And it’s not just gun legislation -- the filibuster has prevented the Senate from moving on abortion rights, voting rights, and literally hundreds of other bills.(3) If our representatives can’t act to protect innocent schoolchildren, when will they? We need every Democratic senator on board to overturn the filibuster, but Senators Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and California’s own Dianne Feinstein are holding out. In this critical moment, we need to ramp up our campaign to convince Feinstein to end this terrible rule and pull Manchin and Sinema with her.
In ten years, there have been a horrifying 540 school shootings in the United States.(4) Congress keeps vowing to act -- and the House of Representatives has passed legislation restricting weapons, strengthening background checks, and instituting red flag checks.(5) But the Senate needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, and Republicans -- with the NRA funding behind them -- will never let that happen. The Senate hasn’t been able to pass new COVID-19 relief, protect voter access to the ballot box, or codify Roe v. Wade because of the filibuster. And now, even with 90% of Americans wanting gun safety legislation, the filibuster will likely block that, too.(6) Courage California is ramping up our campaign to tell our senators -- especially Senator Feinstein, one of the most powerful Democrats in the legislative body -- just what is at stake if they keep the filibuster in place. Will you donate to help fund advertisements, social media campaigns, and our efforts to rally grassroots support? Yours in the fight against gun violence, Irene, along with Amber, Angela, Annie, Isidra, Jay, Lindsay, LisaMarie, Mai, Mai, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) PS: The best way to support Courage California and our work for equity and justice is to become a recurring monthly donor so we'll have the ongoing support we need over the long haul. Click here to chip in $5, $10, or $20 a month, or whatever you can afford. Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more progressive California and country. Follow us now on Facebook or Twitter! Footnotes:
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