Gun violence prevention advocates call on congressional candidates to refuse gun lobby money and support closing loopholes that allow abusers and dangerous people to access firearms
March 23, 2018
To all candidates in the election for Washington’s 8th Congressional District:
We are parents, educators, students, and concerned citizens who, like all Americans, woke up on February 14 to the anguish and heartbreak of the Parkland High School shooting where 17 innocent people lost their lives. As we sort through yet another horrific school shooting, we know one thing for sure: our thoughts and prayers will not be enough to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.
It’s time for change. We are done accepting our leaders’ failure to do anything to stop these shootings. And if you want to represent us in Congress you must be part of the solution. We call on every candidate in the race for Washington’s 8th Congressional District to stand up today and say enough is enough -- and to take two simple but important steps towards ending this crisis.
The first step is to maintain your independence from the gun lobby -- the powerful and immoral special interests that profit from this violence. We call on you to declare your independence from the gun lobby by refusing to accept any contributions from the gun lobby to your campaign. We call on you to take the #NoNRAMoney pledge. The names of those in office or who are running for office who take the pledge are being published on NoNRAMoney.org, so come election day, voters will know which candidates stand with us, and which stand with the NRA.
The second step is to work towards universal background checks so abusers and people with a history of violence do not have access to firearms. If you are elected, we call on you to support the bipartisan House Bill 4240, introduced by U.S. Representatives Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting. H.R. 4240 expands background checks to cover all commercial firearm sales, including those at gun shows, over the internet, or in classified ads. It also strengthens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by improving record-keeping.
We call on you now to move from thoughts and prayers to action. Refuse to accept donations from the gun lobby and come out in strong in support of universal background checks to keep firearms out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
The time to act is now. The Parkland shooting marks the 18th school shooting so far in 2018. Our children are dying; the lack of progress on common sense gun safety reform is not acceptable. One of you will be the elected representative of the 8th Congressional District. You owe it to your future constituents to make these promises.
Will you take the #NoNRAMoney pledge? Will you commit to supporting universal background checks?
We await your response.
Signed,
Fuse Washington
MomsRising
Faith Action Network
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense - Washington State
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest
Gun Responsibility Federal Victory Fund
