BREAKING:

Massachusetts Senate publicly announced more details behind SD.2968, An Act Relative to Saving Black Lives and Transforming Public Safety.

The bill is expected to vote and pass in the Senate this week, but elected officials still need to hear from you.

Our dear friend and partner Greg Gibson is nominated for the 2020 GUAC Award!

 

On our calendar:

• March For Our Lives:MA chapter is co-hosting an online forum with Senator Markey and Congressman Kennedy on July 15th. Register here.
• Jr. Newtown Action Alliance summer music series in July and August. Register here.
• Grandmothers Against Gun Violence rally at the Hyannis Airport Rotary on Tues. July 14th.
• Change The Ref Guac-athon to celebrate Joaquin’s 20th birthday on August 4th.

Gun Violence in a pandemic.

As reported by the Trace, The Gun Violence Archive recorded 21 mass shootings over the holiday weekend. Sadly, 5 children across the country also killed by gun violence.

• 15 year old shot and killed in Roxbury.
• Shooter at the Braintree South Shore Mall arrested.
• One killed and four injured at a July 4th cookout in Lynn.
• Georgia Governor Kemp deploys National Guard to Atlanta without consent from the Mayor.
• Michigan couple who brandished their gun in a parking lot was charged with felony assault.
• Protestors return peacefully to the mansion of St. Louis couple who threatened them with firearms.
• Armed gun owners protested in Washington D.C. included Boogaloos.
• In North Carolina, a woman was killed from celebratory gun fire.
• Poway Synagogue shooting victims sue Smith & Wesson, gun shop and the shooter.
• Nearly $600M proposed in the Congressional House spending bill for police reform.
• Subway bans open carry of firearms in their stores.

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Gun Violence doesn’t stop in a pandemic.

A rise in gun violence is being felt across the country. In Massachusetts, victim injuries and deaths have nearly doubled in June.

• In quarantine, children are at an increased risk of finding unsecured guns in their homes.
• Gun background checks reach a new record high in June.
• In California, 2 dead in a shooting at Walmart Distribution Center.
• Colorado supreme court upholds state ban on large capacity magazines.
• In Michigan, a woman brandishes a gun at a mother and daughter in a parking lot.
• St. Louis couple draw and point guns at protestors walking by their residence.
• In Olympia Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen duped an event by the Washington 3% — a pro-gun group.

On our calendar:

• Jr. Newtown Action Alliance summer music series in July and August. Register here.
• Grandmothers Against Gun Violence rally at the Hyannis Airport Rotary on Tues. July 14th.
• Change The Ref nominations are now being accepted for the Joaquin “GUAC” Oliver award to recognize the bravest activist against gun violence. The GUAC award will be announced on August 5th.

Contact your Massachusetts Representative to support Racial Justice Reform

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Newsworthy

In case you missed it, the Supreme Court will not hear any appeals on gun laws, including the challenge to MA assault weapons ban!

• Protestors in Boston reject Governor Baker’s Police Reform Plan.
• One of three Kentucky officers involved in killing Breonna Taylor was fired.
• Waffle House employee shot after telling a customer to wear a mask.
• Research shows a gun at home creates a greater risk.
• Police shootings and gun violence statistics in America.
• Gun violence grows in a pandemic.
• An uptick in unintentional shooting by children as gun sales soar during the pandemic.

Massachusetts is the only state that requires that all firearms be stored with a locking device in place when the firearms are not in use. The state bars storing or keeping any firearm unless it is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device. Read the full law text here.

Join us for the MA Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence 2nd quarterly Zoom meeting on Tuesday, June 30th at 2 PM EST. Special guest Representative Liz Miranda will speak on her new bill, An Act Relative To Saving Black Lives and Transforming Public Safety, part of the 10-point plan for Massachusetts. 

 

Please register HERE for the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Black Lives Matter.

Stop Handgun Violence stands in support of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus Ten-Point Plan. Black lives matter and we must change policy at all levels to address systemic racism and injustice in this country.

Read our full statement here.

 

Take action NOW to support racial justice reform in Massachusetts.

Read more about the Massachusetts: Ten-Point Plan

Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and Elected Officials of Color presented a Ten-Point Plan to combat systemic racism in policing & police brutality.

 

MA Governor: Police Reform and Certification

Governor Baker announced his legislation designed to ramp up accountability of the state’s police departments, including by creating of a system licensing officers for the first time in state history.

 

Congress: The Justice & Policing Act

Congress introduced a Police Reform Bill, aimed at ending excessive use of force by police officers, and making it easier to identify, track and prosecute police misconduct. It is the most expansive intervention into policing that lawmakers have proposed in recent memory.

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We believe that Black Lives Matter. We believe that Police Violence is Gun Violence.

In response to the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there have been nationwide calls to reform and reimagine police forces and to invest in community solutions to gun violence and other social ills.

In Massachusetts, we have a track record of funding non-law enforcement programs that successfully reduce gun violence. However, these programs are at risk because of budget changes due to Coronavirus. We must not let changes in our state budget disproportionately affect the same community worst hit by COVID-19. Please stand with us in supporting funding for violence intervention programs and tell your state legislators to fund these programs at the same level as last year.

Did you know?

• 100 Americans die from guns everyday. But did you know black Americans are 10X more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide, and 14Xmore likely than white Americans to be injured in a gun assault?
• Every year, 600 American women are shot to death by an intimate partner. But did you know black women are 2X as likely as white women to be fatally shot by an intimate partner?
• 1,500 children are killed by guns every year. But did you know black children are 10X more likely to be killed in a gun homicide than white children?
• 1,000 civilians are fatally shot by law enforcement each year. But did you know unarmed black civilians are nearly 5X more likely to be shot and killed by police than unarmed white civilians?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all our volunteers, advocates and allies who joined #WearOrange for gun violence awareness!

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As a non-profit organization working on an intersectional issue, we have a compelling responsibility to address the current protests happening in cities across the Commonwealth and the nation over the weekend.

In this country, we have seen over and over that the ills of our society fall disproportionately on communities of color – including violence, poverty, environmental pollution, and negative health outcomes. Unfortunately, Massachusetts also has a long history of racism and prejudice that remains reflected in several statistics, including the gun violence in our state that has disproportionately hurt communities of color. This year, the coronavirus pandemic has further magnified and intensified existing inequalities.

It is well past time for remedying these inequities. We understand why communities have grown impatient for progress.

Black Americans are 10 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than are White Americans. Unarmed Black civilians are five times more likely to be shot and killed by police than are White civilians. It’s important to recognize and understand these data points, while working toward ending gun violence for all.

With our partners, we have decided to postpone the coalition advocacy day, scheduled for June 2nd, to make room for important conversations about racial inequity.

If you are looking for ways to participate we urge you to join the conversation on Race and Policing this Wednesday hosted by B.U. School of Public Health. Registration is here.

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Wear Orange kicks off on June 1st: Monday CRUSH IT!

• Show your #WearOrange support on Facebook by adding a frame to your profile pic. Select to update your profile pic; click on Add Frame, search for ‘Wear Orange SHV’; add it, then save!
• Take it up a notch and create your own #WearOrange graphic. We created a free CANVA template just for you to copy and edit. Personalize it with your own photo & quote, then post it on social media. Tag us on Twitter and Instagram @stophandguns; and/or Facebook @stophandgunviolence. Don’t forget to add hashtags #WearOrange and #EndGunViolence.

Tuesday June 2nd: Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy Day

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

It’s virtual advocacy! Help us advocate for two priority bills:

1. H.2045/S.1388 An Act Relative to Crime Gun Data Analysis and Reporting
2. SSYI: Safe and Secure Youth Initiatives funding

June 3rd Wednesday: Contact your Lawmakers

• MA bills  H.2045/S.1388 An Act Relative to Crime Gun Data Analysis & Reporting. Read more about it and take action.
• Tell Congress BAN 3D-printed guns, also known as ghost guns. Take action.

June 4th Thursday: Get out the VOTE.

• Sign-on here to get Ranked Choice Voting on the 2020 MA ballot.
• Tell Congress to support the Natural Disaster & Emergency Ballot Act 2020 (NDEBA), a National vote-by-mail initiative.
• Check your voting status and ask a friend to do the same!

June 5th Friday: #WearOrange

• Let’s get #WearOrange trending! Take a selfie, tag us @stophandguns for a Retweet or Insta story share.

 

The story behind Wear Orange

National Gun Violence Awareness honors Hadiya Pendleton, after she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15. The color orange was chosen to represent safety and recognizes the more than 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence everyday. Together, we turn America orange the first week of June again this year with a week of action.

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For years, gun violence prevention activists have been wearing orange for National Gun Violence Awareness Day in honor Hadiya Pendleton, after she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 — just one week after performing at President Obama’s 2nd inaugural parade in 2013.

Since then orange has been the defining color of the gun violence prevention movement. The color orange honors the more than 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence everyday.

Our movement gains momentum when gun sense activists come together to fight for a future free from gun violence.  Together, with hundreds of thousands of Americans, we will turn America orange the first week of June again this year with a week of action.

Sneak peek to #WearOrange Week of Action

• June 1st.Monday: CRUSH it on social media by creating your own meme!
• June 2nd.Tuesday: ZOOM with us at our virtual GVP Lobby Day (registration link) 
• June 3rd.Wednesday: ADVOCATE for our priority bills
• June 4th.Thursday: GET out the Vote 
• June 5th.Friday: TAG us with your #WearOrange selfie!

Don’t wait – register NOW for virtual GVP Lobby Day.

Details TBA next week! 

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Gun Violence across America

• When shootings don’t stop in a pandemic.
• Arrests made after public outcry for the murderof Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.
• Four dead in Chicago over the weekend.
• 17 year old teen shot dead in Des Moines.
• Slain Louisville EMT, Breonna Taylor, was shot multiple times on March 13th, and still no arrests have been made.
• Cincinnati puts more police on the streets in response to increased in gun violence.

 

Tell Congress #Ban3DGuns

DIY ghost gun kits are selling out during the pandemic. Watch the 60-Minutes report on Ghost Guns.

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