Anti 2a email it never f'n ends
Hi Moms Demand Action of the Greater Boston Area,
* *Here is our Monday newsletter, giving you the update on our efforts to strengthen gun laws and how you can take action to help!
We have news on:
*
1. developments at the state level
*
2. developments at the federal level
3. a new campaign from the national leadership of Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America.
*STATE- We have become aware that there will be 5 hearings across the state this summer to help determine if new gun safety bills should come up for a vote in the fall. The hearings will be in
*Plymouth, Worcester, Springfield, the north shore, and Boston. It is likely Boston's hearing will be in the fall, and we will want to amass as large a presence as possible to show support for bills that close loopholes in Massachusetts' gun laws.
We do not have dates yet for these hearings but will pass them along when we do.
*FEDERAL- U.S. Congressman John Tierney, from our great state of Massachusetts, just introduced a very interesting new bill in Congress requiring
*that all newly manufactured handguns be personalized so they could only be operated by authorized users.
This technology would protect law enforcement officers from having their guns used against them, would protect gun owners whose guns are stolen from being used in a crime, and would protect children and families from accidental shootings. Last week Congressman Tierney invited both Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts and Stop Handgun Violence founder John Rosenthal to speak on the press call which
*introduced his new legislation. Very exciting that he reached out to us to help him gain support, and it is a fantastic bill!-
Also at the federal level,
*
The King-Thompson Bill, which is the background
*check
*bill in the House, continues to gain momentum! House Minority leadership believes the Majority could be persuaded to bring the bill to the floor for a vote if it continues to garner co-sponsors. As of this writing,
*there are 175 co-sponsors of this bill, all but three Democrats. We will want to focus on the 27 Republican Representatives to join as co-sponsors. The hope is that that if we could get a handful of those Reps to co-sponsor, we could break the logjam.*ALL OF OUR THE REPRESENTATIVES IN MASSACHUSETTS HAVE SIGNED ON AS CO-SPONSORS! *Please thank them with an email, tweet, or phone call, and encourage them to continue to make this bill a priority!
ALSO, we will be encouraging our moms to reach out to friends and family in other states, and tell them to insist that their Representatives co-sponsor the bill. We will be back in touch about which states to target!
NEW CAMPAIGNMoms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
*announced
*today
*that the launch of a new campaign that will help American moms support companies that have gun sense, and put pressure on those that don’t:
*http://action.momsdemandaction.org/page/content/corporate/.
*From
*today's press release:
*“Gun sense describes our common-sense approach to supporting policies and people who understand that while it’s important to respect the 2nd
*Amendment, it’s also important to take action to curb the growing epidemic of gun violence in America,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
“Moms and women oversee nearly 80 percent of household spending; Moms Demand Action is going to make sure they spend those dollars at businesses and institutions that respect and support the safety of our children and families
.”
*Specifically, Moms Demand Action is urging American moms to support companies and businesses that:
Don’t allow guns in their establishments, regardless of what state laws permit; Don’t sell assault weapons;
Don’t sponsor or partner with gun lobby organizations;
Don’t support or fund legislative efforts to loosen federal or state gun laws.
Initially, the companies Moms Demand Action is thanking include Peet’s Coffee & Tea, IKEA, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Square, and Comcast. The companies Moms Demand Action is pressuring for change include Starbucks, Walmart, Cabela’s, Wyndham, and National Car Rental.
*“Moms have learned a lot about the lax gun laws in America since the mass shooting of 20 elementary school students in Newtown, and now we’re learning about weak corporate gun policies that endanger our children,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “For example, many moms are unaware that if they take their children to a Starbucks in a state that allows open carry of guns, their children may be standing next to a customer who has a loaded weapon.”
*We have been crossing the street to get our coffee at Dunkin, instead of Starbucks, since we found this out! And tweeting to Starbucks about it.
We will keep insisting on Gunsense every which way we can, until we get it.As always, thank you for all of your amazing work this past 5 months. So many of you have impressed us so many times already. We are attaching here a photo from a visit several of our members paid to U.S. Congressman William Keating from the Cape during our most recent Week of Action. Please feel free to send us pictures of your advocacy activities. Our moms are demanding action - all over the Greater Boston Area!
*Until next week.