Call to Action
Check your investments & retirement accounts for gun/ammo stocks. Divest & Advertise!
Support state/local action that could help bypass gun industry civil liability immunity.
If you have children, normalize the 'guns in the house' conversation before play-dates.
Support March for Our Lives - the newest generation of activists in their June 11 action!
Last week a friend sent us her response to the Uvalde school massacre. Briar Goldberg has a decades long connection to the fight to end gun violence - first as a victim and then as an activist. Her letter offers insight into the victims of these shootings along with four straight forward actions that each of us can take to act now while Congress dithers. Briar’s letter was written for her friends and family. It is personal and very practical. There are useful links that you can follow to take your own steps to save lives and to begin to redirect our nation’s tragic history of gun violence.
With Briar’s permission we are printing the letter as we received it. Anyone who is interested in following up with Briar to talk issues or strategy, or join in her work, can drop us an email. We’ll put you in touch.
Letter from Briar
Hello my dear friends and family,
I know so many of us are reeling from the violence over the past two weeks - it's all so terrible. I think most of you know I was a junior at Columbine when the shooting happened there, so every time a shooting happens at a school, it feels deeply personal.
Needless to say, I've been thinking about gun violence prevention for (pulls out calculator) 23 years 👵.
So, I'm writing this email in the spirit of helping me, and maybe helping you turn your grief and anger into action. From my perspective, congress hasn't been able to meaningfully act in 23 years, so these ideas go beyond calling your congressional rep (which you should still totally do):
Check your investments & retirement accounts for gun/ammo stocks: Gun/ammo stocks are hiding in many big index funds managed by the likes of Fidelity, Vanguard, Blackrock etc. The good news is many of these companies now also manage gun free funds. Here's a great tool to help you search and clean-up your own portfolio. I don't personally believe individual divestment does much, but I do believe in sending market signals. So if you do move your money, shout about it from the rooftops! And definitely tell the financial institutions who manage your money why you're doing it!
Support state/local action that could help bypass gun industry civil liability immunity: A federal lawmakes it nearly impossible for victims and their families to sue gun/ammo manufacturers. Kramer can sue Java World, but if you're injured in a mass shooting you can't sue the gun maker? How un-American is that?!? Luckily, a few states are starting to put laws on the books that offer a work-around! So, if local government action is your jam (seems easier than federal action from my perspective), advocating for state civil liability regulations is the move. This is what helped Sandy Hook parents reach a $73M settlement with Remington (maker of an AR-15 style assault rifle) just a few months ago!
NOTE: You all see how this is all connected, right? If shooting victims can sue, and gun makers lose big money, they might actually be interested in making their products safer and, I don't know, demanding things like stricter background checks. AND, if the institutional investors holding majority stakes in gun/ammo manufacturing companies realize those investments are no longer financially sound, they might start taking activist stands, Carl Icahn style, and we're off to the races!
If you have kiddos, normalize the 'guns in the house' conversation before play-dates. In 2020, firearms became the leading cause of death for kids under the age of 17. Many of these deaths happen at home, when kids find their parents' guns. So safe storage is critical. If you own a gun, that means making sure it's locked, in a safe, and, ideally, the ammo is stored separately. If you're scheduling a play-date, please ask the other parents if there are guns in the house and then ask how those guns are stored. Everytown has some great resources to help you have this super awkward conversation. I'm a communication coach, so happy to practice with anyone!
March For Our Lives request for 'old' people: I was on a call last night with the March for Our Lives organizers. Here's the best line from the call: "if you're an adult ally please know that we have the best team already in place. We don't need your mentorship, guidance or expertise. What we need is your financial support." BOOM! I love this. My generation hasn't moved the needle enough, and these kids are trying new things. I'm all in, I donated and if you can, you should too. The money will fund travel scholarships so March for Our Lives organizers can get to DC for a huge week of action on the Hill in early June.
That's it for now, loves. Don't lose hope. Call me if you want to chat about any of these in detail!
XOXO
Briar