To: Congress
Tell Congress to stop glorifying guns & ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines now!
Dear Member of Congress,
Elected leaders must stop glorifying gun ownership and finally enact the comprehensive gun policy reform we need to begin stemming our horrific epidemic of gun violence! That military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines remain in wide civilian circulation is the most glaring example of that glorification.
Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are the weapons of choice for mass shooters looking to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. There is absolutely no good reason for such weapons designed for the battlefield to be in civilian hands.
We demand that you stop glorifying guns and begin working for the safety of all our families and communities through comprehensive gun policy reform, starting with an effective federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. NOW is the time to act!
Sincerely,
Why is this important?
-Guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens, surpassing car accidents. [1]
-In 2021, more than 48,000 people lost their lives to gun-related injuries, more than in any other year on record. [2]
-The number of mass shootings per year has almost doubled over the past five years, from 348 mass shootings in 2017 to 646 in 2022. [3]
-AR-15s have been used in ten of the 17 deadliest mass killings in the US that have taken place since 2012. [4]
-In 2022, about 20 million AR-15-style rifles were in circulation in the US, up from 8.5 million since a federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004. [5]
[1] https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/
[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
[3] https://www.gunviolencearchive.org
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65242244
[5] https://news.wttw.com/2021/03/31/northwestern-study-says-1994-2004-federal-assault-weapons-ban-worked
