This is up to us! Only days after promising that he would stand up to the NRA, President Trump caved and has abandoned all gun reform efforts. Once again, Congress is gridlocked and will not pass any meaningful legislation. The situation is no better in state legislatures. A March 15th Associated Press report on gun legislation in the states finds there is little likelihood of repeating even the modest reforms passed in Florida. In many states where they have legislative majorities, Republicans are proposing to loosen existing gun laws.
Last week, the mass student walkouts commemorating the one month anniversary of the Parkland shooting led the way toward a new political movement to shift the balance of power from the NRA to the majority of Americans who support meaningful gun control. On March 24 it is up to us to take the next step by joining the students to support changing gun laws. There is more work to be done during the fall campaign and on November 6th it is up to us to match our votes to our protest.
Here is a simple checklist of the needed reforms:
- Ban all semi-automatic weapons. There are no legal or constitutional reasons for anyone to own military grade weapons.
- Establish a basic licensing and regulatory scheme for ALL hand guns. The Constitution requires that the right to bear arms be “well regulated”. It is time to regulate guns in the same way we regulate cars and dentists.
- Institute a buyback program to remove as many guns as possible from American households – most gun deaths are a result of suicides and violence among families and close acquaintances – to begin “starving” the criminal black market in guns.
- Provide funding to all schools to hire the counselors and social workers who can meet the behavioral and mental needs of students and to support training teachers to create inclusive, “bully proof” classrooms which reduce all forms of school violence.
- Oppose arming teachers and the militarization of our schools as a means of addressing the scourge of deadly school shootings.
It’s time to get moving.
Call To Action
Join and promote the March For Our Lives on Saturday, March 24.
- Make a poster, post on Facebook, Tweet and gather a group of friends and families to attend a March near you.
Call your state and Congressional representatives to let them know you are marching and what you are marching for. And call even if you can’t march but want to support those who can.