Massachusetts Receives “A-” on Gun Laws

Last week the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence released their annual scorecard on state gun laws.

Massachusetts received an A-, the fourth highest grade behind New Jersey, Connecticut and California. We are proud of the work we have done here including:

– Requiring background checks for private sales, online sales, and at gun shows

– Preventing children from accessing firearms

– Working to close loopholes for domestic abusers

– Banning assault rifles and high capacity magazines

– Licensing of firearm owners

These laws work together to reduce gun deaths in the Commonwealth, currently the state with the lowest gun deaths per capita in the nation. However there is still more we can do to keep Massachusetts residents safe.

Email your MA State Representative now and tell them that Massachusetts needs an extreme risk protective order now.

What is an extreme risk protective order? Rep. Decker’s Extreme Risk Protective Order bill, H.3610, provides family members with an opportunity to separate firearms from an individual in crisis. You can learn more about Extreme Risk Protective Orders by reading this factsheet.

Together we can end gun violence.

 

MA Gun Reform Update: Post-Parkland, Students lead the way

It’s been a very busy two weeks since the Parkland Massacre and our Statehouse lobby day the following day.

Generally, we end this newsletter with the upcoming events and deadlines, but we’ve decided to put them first this week, since there are so many important ones we want to bring your attention to them.

  • March 1st (Thursday) – Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) biennial firearms report deadline.
  • March 8th (Thursday) – Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense (Boston Metro Chapter) Activist Training Event.
  • March 14th (Wednesday) – Student Walkout for Action
  • March 24th (Saturday) – March for Our Lives
  • April 13th (Friday) – Gun Violence Prevention Summit at Edward M. Kennedy Institute.
  • April 14th & 15th (Sat/Sun) – Gun Violence Prevention Hackathon at Mass General Hospital.
  • April 15th (Sunday) – Public Safety Cmte reporting deadline for ERPO bill H3610.
  • April 28th (Saturday) – Stop Handgun Violence Advocacy Training at Boston University.
  • May 7th (Monday) – Massachusetts defends assault weapons ban in federal court.

In the news:

Massachusetts:

Massachusetts has joined a coalition of northeastern states sharing gun data. You can read more about it here.

Massachusetts teachers grade Trump’s ill-advised ideas to reduce gun violence, they think it is “simply outrageous.” Read the full article here.

Harvard University School of Public Health, Mothers For Justice & Equality, and U.S. Senator Ed Markey joined in a gun violence prevention event in Boston.

Massachusetts students plan walkouts and a lobby day for March 14th, plus a March on March 24th to support gun violence prevention in the wake of the Parkland school shooting.

In Lowell, a 20-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting.

A Medford middle school principal is on leave after not reporting ammunition found at the school over winter break.

Elsewhere in New England:

Rhode Island: Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) signed an executive order establishing an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) policy in that state.  Rhode Island Legislators have filed at least two versions of ERPO legislation including one bill co-sponsored by House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello (D-Cranston). They have the support of local law enforcement. Plus check out the debate between our friends at the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence and the local gun rights group.

Vermont: Vermont is fast tracking ERPO legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Sears (D-Bennington).  His committee unanimously reported out the bill favorably.  Governor Phil Scott (R-VT) wants the legislation fast-tracked. Meanwhile, a local teen has been accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Poultney school. One Vermont Catholic Bishop has become vocal after the mass shooting in Florida “This must stop. It is not normal.”

New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Senate has agreed to consider giving local school boards explicit authority to ban guns, and the New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted down (231-110) gun carrying on state college campuses. Those are two (albeit small) wins for the good guys.

Maine: Mainers, including author Stephen King, are sharply criticizing U.S. Rep Bruce Poliquin (R-ME-2nd) for accepting campaign donations from the NRA totaling more than $200,000. Our friends at the Maine Gun Safety Coalition are hosting an advocacy day to keep guns out of schools, we support their common sense call to action.

A little further south:

Governors of Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have formed the “States for Gun Safety” coalition to fight gun violence collectively.

Across the United States:

California: Stanford Law Professor John J. Donahue III participated in a Q & A about gun policy in America. When describing whether the U.S. is working to prevent individuals with known mental illness from purchasing guns he said “…the Trump Administration and the House of Representatives teamed up to overturn an Obama-era regulation that added 75,000 severely mentally disabled individuals who were collecting disability benefits to the existing background check system, which shows that the frequent NRA invocation that the problem is mentally ill individuals with guns is simply another part of the charade to divert attention from reasonable gun safety measures.” You can read the full transcript here. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case challenging California’s law for a waiting period on handgun sales.

Parkland: In the wake of the Parkland shooting, New York Times created a slideshow of the deadliest school shootings in the U.S. The Parkland survivors confronted Senator Marco Rubio and other politicians at a CNN townhall in front of a live audience in Florida (spoiler alert: the students won the night). In a Harvard Gazette Q & A with Douglas Johnson, Johnson is encouraged by student activists, but thinks they need a blueprint to turn energy into policy. Survivors of the Parkland shooting boarded busses to Tallahassee last week to urge state lawmakers to take action on guns, the students were disappointed, but the pressure is mounting. A doctor who treated patients from the Parkland shooting wrote about the difference between AR-15 gunshot wounds and more typical low velocity handgun wounds.

Research: There is an updated version of David Hemenway’s informational book: Private Guns, Public Health. Read more here.

Gun industry update:

Locally, Boston based SimpliSafe has severed ties with the NRA. Across New England, beleaguered Sturm Ruger, headquartered in CT with a sizable plant in NH, has laid off seven hundreds workers within the past year.  Major American businesses selling consumer goods & services are quickly cancelling NRA discount programs, including Delta, United and First National Bank.  Dallas elected officials want the NRA to move its planned May 2018 convention elsewhere. Florida NRA lobbyist, Marion Hammer, has been publicly confronted by Parkland survivors and profiled in the New Yorker. Faith leaders and advocates have come up with many ways the gun manufacturers can help reduce gun violence, most noticeably using their market power.

A final note:

Thank you to our super volunteer Matt N. who combs the internet each week and compiles these stories for us. Thanks Matt!

Stop Handgun Violence Announces Backfire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2018                                Contact: Zoe Grover at Info@stophandgunviolence.com

#BackfireTrump Auto-Tweets At Trump Every Time An American Dies From Gun Violence

New Campaign Aims to Shame the President Into Acting to Save American Lives.

In the wake of the devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Stop Handgun Violence is partnering with States United to Prevent Gun Violence to launch a Twitter campaign that takes aim at Donald Trump, who in his first year in office has done nothing to reduce gun violence. In fact, he has reversed Obama Administration policies that made it more difficult for known mentally ill people to legally purchase firearms.

 

The campaign combines real-time data of daily preventable gun violence deaths, with the massive voice of active Twitter users, to create a relentless reminder for @realDonaldTrump of the scale and seriousness of American gun violence. Each year, more than 33,000 Americans die as a result of gun violence.

 

The campaign’s website BackfireTrump.com asks Twitter users to make their voices heard by volunteering their accounts to automatically tweet @realDonaldTrump every time an American dies from gun violence. Data is pulled from gunviolencearchive.org, an unaffiliated, independent research group that collects data on gun related incidents in the U.S.verified by law enforcement, government and commercial sources. BackfireTrump.com users can choose to auto-tweet from their account in-real time as deadly shootings are verified, or they can auto-tweet Trump gun violence summaries on a daily or weekly basis.

 

“It doesn’t have to be like this. Every country has mentally ill people. We’re the only country that arms them with assault rifles,” said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence. “We are disgusted by the loss of innocent lives in Parkland and across America from preventable gun violence. However, we have been encouraged by the Parkland community and the response of students across America. We are supportive of the #NeverAgain movement and hope that #BackfireTrump can help more people add their voices to this important issue.”

 

Rosenthal added: “There have been more than 290 school shootings since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook five years ago. These shootings underscore the need for national gun safety laws to make it harder for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to have access to assault weapons and carry concealed handguns. Instead, the President continues to parrot gun lobby talking points, and proposes to increase access to guns in schools. Our #BackfireTrump campaign was created to raise awareness of the gun violence issues in America just like our billboard in Boston has over the last 20 years. Most gun death are preventable. Given Trump’s prolific use of the platform, Twitter seems the most effective place to reach him.”

 

Rosenthal said laws he has worked to change in Massachusetts “proves that strong, sensible gun laws can reduce gun injuries and deaths and still not infringe on Second Amendment rights.” Massachusetts has the lowest gun deaths in the nation.

States United to Prevent Gun Violence and Stop Handgun Violence hope this unique way of using real-time data for this important social cause will grab the President’s attention. While these numbers are high, it is worth noting the data does not include the additional 22,000 gun related suicides every year.  For people looking for more ways to make their voices heard, BackfireTrump.com provides information and links for signing a petition, writing to a member of Congress, or joining a gun violence prevention organization.

 

Learn more about the campaign at BackfireTrump.com

See Stop Handgun Violence tweets at: twitter.com/stophandguns

Add BackfireTrump on Twitter: twitter.com/backfiretrump

See other supporters tweeting at: #BackfireTrump

 

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Stop Handgun Violence (SHV) is a Massachusetts based non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. SHV has been the lead advocate in Massachusetts for enactment of the most effective gun violence prevention laws and first in the nation consumer protection regulations. The organization does not seek to restrict Constitutional rights, but advocates only for common sense legislation that will help save lives. For more information, go to www.stophandgunviolence.org

Stop Handgun Violence Response to Parkland FL School Shooting

Stop Handgun Violence Response to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Mass Shooting;

Boston, MA – Yesterday, on a day that is supposed to celebrate love, seventeen high school students and educators were murdered and 12 more wounded with an AR 15 assault weapon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  Parkland makes the eighteenth school shooting in the first 44 days of 2018 and the 291st school shooting since the Sandy Hook Massacre.

In Florida, no criminal background check is required for private gun sales which account for approximately 50 percent of guns sold each year including for assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines.  In addition, there is no limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time and their “stand your ground” laws allow citizens to shoot first, ask questions later.

“While the details of yet another horrific and potentially preventable mass shooting continue to emerge, it’s brutally clear that there are deadly consequences due to unlimited access to military assault weapons without background checks or detection in Florida and 32 other states”, said John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Stop Handgun Violence. “There are more mass shootings, gun injuries and gun deaths in the US than all 26 developed nations combined.  Congress has chosen gun industry blood money campaign contributions over common sense national gun laws and public safety. The time for action is now. When a civilian shooter can legally outgun the local police force the results are abhorrent. The gun lobby and Congress’s unconscionable priority of unrestricted access to guns over lives has disastrous consequences. Over 90 Americans die each day due to gun violence and the unrestricted access to firearms in this country is a dangerous policy with dangerous results.”

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Stop Handgun Violence (SHV) is a Massachusetts based non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. SHV has been the lead advocate in Massachusetts for enactment of the most effective gun violence prevention laws and first in the nation consumer protection regulations. The organization does not seek to restrict Constitutional rights, but advocates only for common sense legislation that will help save lives. For more information, go to www.stophandgunviolence.org

ACTION ALERT: Extreme Risk Protection Order Advocacy Day 2/15

We are at a critical point in the effort to pass H3081, the Extreme Risk Protective Order bill, which is pending before the Judiciary Committee. We need action NOW to move this bill. We are asking Coalition advocates to take two actions in support of this life-saving legislation:

1) Call your State Representative; and 2) join us at the State House on Feb 15 for an Advocacy Day.

1. Call your State Representative to urge them to support H3081. (You will almost certainly be speaking with an aide).  A suggested script for those calls is below.

“I am calling as your constituent to ask you to support H3081, the Extreme Risk Protective Order Bill, filed by State Representative David Linsky.  This important bill would give loved ones, law enforcement and health care providers the ability to have guns removed from the home of someone at extreme risk of harming themselves or others. Can I count on you to support this legislation when it reaches the floor of the House? (record answer for report-back).  (If yes, then ask:)  Will you contact Speaker DeLeo and Rep. Claire Cronin, House Chair of the Judiciary Committee, to urge them to get this bill out of Committee and on the House floor? (record answer for report-back).”

And please use this link to report back on what you hear!

The main number for the House of Representative is (617) 722-2000.  If you need to determine who your State Representative is, you can plug your address into here.

2. Join us for an advocacy day at the State House Grand Staircase (2nd floor) on February 15th, starting at 10:30 a.m. Please RSVP for the advocacy day through our Facebook event invitation or e-mailing programs@stophandgunviolence.com. We need everyone that can possibly be there to attend. We will gather, hear from gun violence prevention leaders and survivors about the importance of passing H3081, and we will then go office-to-office seeking commitments of support for the bill.

By raising our collective voices we can once again prompt action on important gun violence prevention legislation. Please help us spread the word by sharing this action alert with your friends on social media.

 

Gun Reform Update 1/18/18: Using data end gun violence

Using data to reduce gun violence

In Massachusetts, Senator Creem has filed a bill, S1292, which would collect data on multiple gun purchases made in state and analyze whether those guns were later used in crime. If you’d like to get this important bill passed, sign our letter to the Joint Committee on Public Safety, which is required to report on the bill by February 7th.

Delware and New York are also employing data to end gun violence

Delaware has received a grant from University of Pennsylvania to integrate state databases so that state agencies have a fuller picture of services children and teens are receiving. Using “predictive analytics” Delaware hopes to intervene earlier and prevent future violence. You can read more here.

New York policy makers are urging Governor Cuomo to allocate funding to create a state gun violence research institute. Advocates argue that data gleaned from the research institute could be used to further lower gun violence in New York and could be shared with other states.

Watch the video here:

New England Round Up:

New Hampshire legislators are hoping to pass a bill that would punish municipalities who have passed gun violence prevention ordinances. Supporters of the bill say that city gun ordinances are already forbidden and this would just create penalties. Opponents of the bill say this will punish city officials acting in good faith to protect their constituents. Read more here.

A Vermont man was arrested after stealing a firearm in New Hampshire and trading it for money and heroin in Vermont. Events like these underscore the relationship between the opioid epidemic and the gun violence epidemic and why it is so important to keep firearms locked and unloaded regardless of the presence of a child. Read more about the arrest here.

National Round Up:

A first-in-the-nation Washington state law requires notifying law enforcement and victims when an indivdiual fails a background check for a firearm. Contrary to previous assumptions, the new law has shown that individuals who cannot pass a background check are still trying to purchase firearms. Since the law went into effect in August, over 1200 Washingtonians have failed a background check, many of them purposefully concealed their criminal record on purchase forms. You can read more here.

The U.S. has the highest child mortality rate among 20 rich nations. Among teens 15 to 19, Americans were 82 times more likely to get shot than their international peers. Despite spending more per person on health care than the comparable nations, this trend is likely to continue. Read more here.

In Illinois, Chicago activists are urging Police not to purchase their service weapons from gun dealers with a history of bad behavior. Activists are asking police to boycott dealers whose guns frequently are found at crime scenes. Watch a video clip here.

A final tid-bit:

Harpers Magazine added a number to their index: “Average number of days the National Rifle Association waits to tweet after a major mass shooting: 6.3”

Thank you for making it to the end of the round up.

Please tell your friends to subscribe here.

Massachusetts Gun Reform: Holidays Edition

Thank you for reading this edition of Gun Reform Roundup: the latest news from the Commonwealth, New England, and the Nation.

Here are the biggest stories this week:

1) Last Thursday was the five year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Massacre. Since then, over 160,000 Americans have died due to gun violence. Across the state, faith leaders and activists honored the Sandy Hook victims and those lost in the years since.

You can learn more about Amesbury’s vigil, Arlington’s vigil, Beverly’s vigil, Boston’s vigil, Hyannis’ vigil, Martha’s Vineyard’s vigil, Natick’s vigil, Northborough’s vigil, Topsfield’s vigil, and Westford’s vigil.

Sheryl Crow also honored the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre by releasing a new song titled “The Dreaming Kind”.

Finally, you can hear these two fathers discuss the morbid coincidence that brings them together. Their sons were killed on the same day…twenty years apart.

2) “Your Piece for Peace” – a regional gun buy back day

You can learn more about the regional gun buy back which removed over 100 guns from circulation in the Commonwealth with stories from Boston and Worcester.

3) The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act passed the house and is on to the Senate. You can learn more about all the opposition to this terrible bill.

Boston Mayor Walsh and Police Commissioner Evans penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe opposing Concealed Carry Reciprocity. WBUR’s On Point reported on Concealed Carry Reciprocity this week too, you can hear that broadcast here. It’s not surprising that  National Law Enforcement Partnership, Survivors of Gun Violence, the American Bar Association, National Faith Groups, the League of Women Voters, and 17 state Attorneys General have all written letters to Congress urging them to oppose this dangerous legislation, recent studies showthat Right to Carry laws are linked to higher violent crime rates.

Are you still unsure what Concealed Carry Reciprocity means for your state? We’ve written about it in the past, which you can read here.

4) The Massachusetts legislature is still in session and we’re still paying attention!

Please help us support Representative David Linsky’s extreme risk protection order bill by signing our letter to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. You can watch Rep. Linsky discuss the bill at a recent event at the Center for Democratic Governance and Leadership at Bridgewater State University.

5) One Final Thing!

Stop Handgun Violence relies on supporters like you to fund our programming. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to Stop Hangun Violence before the new tax year. Just $25 can fund distribution of four trigger locks which help prevent accidents, theft and suicides.

From all of us at Stop Handgun Violence: Have a safe and happy holidays!

 

Massachusetts Gun Reform: Week of 12/11

Thank you for reading this edition of Gun Reform Roundup: the latest news from the Commonwealth, New England, and the Nation.

Here are the biggest stories this week:

1) John Rosenthal Pens Op-Ed in Attleboro Sun Chronicle Denouncing the House’s Passage of Concealed Carry Reciprocity

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass Concealed Carry Reciprocity. Regular readers will know how terrible this bill is. We must stop it in the Senate. Read John Rosenthal’s op-ed in Attleboro Sun Chronicle: Congress has blood on their hands.

Defeating this bill is the number one priority for our organization and every other major gun violence prevention group, including Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and the Brady Campaign.

What is Concealed Carry Reciprocity?

  • CCR, also known as Federally-Mandated Concealed Carry, would make it legal for more dangerous and untrained people to carry loaded, hidden guns in more public places in Massachusetts.
  • This bill would totally decimate Massachusetts’ gun permitting system by forcing our state to allow ANYONE who is allowed to carry a gun in their home state, to carry guns in Massachusetts, regardless of the licensing requirements in that state. We have the lowest gun death rate in the nation, thanks largely to our permitting requirements. We must not go backward; public safety requires it.
  • This is not a national standard, it is a race to the bottom where the states with absolutely no permitting requirements become the law of the land.
  • Even in the wake of the worst mass shootings in modern American history, Congress is still bending to the will of the gun lobby to put more guns in untrained hands across America.
  • Police chiefs across our state and nearly every law enforcement agency have proclaimed opposition to this bill because of its disastrous consequences for public safety. Officers would have to become experts on licensing requirements for all 50 states, and the bill would hold officers personally liable if they question the validity of someone’s concealed carry permit. This would undoubtedly lead to some violent offenders slipping through.
  • National Law Enforcement Partnership, Survivors of Gun Violence, the American Bar Association, National Faith Groups, the League of Women Voters, and 17 state Attorneys General have all written letters to Congress urging them to oppose this dangerous legislation.

2) Nationwide Vigils Planned for 5th Anniversary of Sandy Hook Shooting

Spearheaded by the Newtown Action Alliance’s National Vigil in Washington, DC, there will be vigils held to honor victims of gun violence and discuss actions to prevent future deaths. This week will mark the 5-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT.

A list of Massachusetts vigils can be found at the bottom of this email. There will be events in Boston, Beverly, Westford, Warwick, Northborough, Andover, Arlington, Amesbury, Natick, Topsfield, Hyannis, Williamstown, and Westfield. Some are as soon as TOMORROW!

3) Goods for Guns Buybacks to Take Place Across Massachusetts This Saturday

Please click here to view a Facebook event and a flier with the locations. More are listed below in the upcoming events section. Get gift cards just in time for the holidays by turning in old (or new!) guns. This is totally anonymous! No questions asked. Click here to learn more from UMASS Memorial Hospital in Worcester. And check out this episode of Health Matters for more.

4) St. Susanna Catholic Church in Dedham, MA Displays List of Victims of Mass Shooting in Nativity Scene

The decision of a local church to display names of victims of gun violence in their nativity scene has received national attention. The Boston Globe also published a story.

“We chose [to include] these events to highlight [that] this can happen anywhere,” Pastor Stephen Josoma of St. Susana Parish in Dedham, MA, told NBC News. “It has happened at nursing homes, schools, military bases, or concerts, and there doesn’t seem to be a place that is safe.”

5) NPR: Gun Violence Survivor Greg Gibson’s Moving Meeting with His Son’s Killer

This could not have been easy. Greg Gibson is an incredible man and an incredible advocate for gun safety. We are proud of him as he makes his healing journey. Click here for the NPR story.

6) Sandy Hook Shooting May Have Amplified Gun Deaths Two Times

After the Sandy Hook shooting, there was a huge increase of gun sales and an accompanying increase in accidental shootings and gun deaths. See the data and research from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) here.

7) PBS NewsHour: House Debates on Concealed Carry Reciprocity

You can check out PBS NewsHour’s video on the House debates about concealed carry reciprocity by clicking here. The segment includes the speech given by our Congressman, Rep. Seth Moulton.

8) More Coverage of the Historically Dangerous Concealed Carry Reciprocity Vote

From the New York Times, the Washington Post, and ABC News.

9) Public Health Researcher Dr. Daniel Webster Talks About Role of Media

Dr. Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins University talked to Media Mattersabout the media’s responsibility to cover the harmful effects of lawmakers gutting gun licensing laws.

10) Military Officers Urge Congress to Address Gun Violence Crisis

Sixteen of the nation’s top retired military commanders are urging Congress to pass gun violence prevention legislation. Click here to read more from the Washington Post.

11) Westfield, MA Gun Maker Savage Arms Faces Lawsuit Over Exploding Rifles

“Gun maker’s exploding rifle leaves trail of injured hunters” – The Boston Globe.

Upcoming Events:

December 16, 9:00am-3:00pm: Goods for Guns – Gun Buybacks at Various Locations in Central Massachusetts. Get gift cards for old guns and free gun locks even if you don’t turn in a gun. TOTALLY ANONYMOUS. Locations include Worcester, Barre, Charlton, Dudley, Fitchburg, Grafton, Leicester, Leominster, Millbury, Northbridge, Oxford, Rutland, Southbridge, Spencer, and Webster. Click here for the Facebook event and list of locations.

May 2018: Advocacy Training Workshop hosted by Stop Handgun Violence, Boston University Activist Lab, and M+R Labs.

2017 National Vigils for Victims of Gun Violence – Massachusetts Events

December 13, 7:00pm; Beverly, Ellis Square, 12 Ellis Sq.: Candlelight Vigil for Victims and Call for Action on Gun Violence. Speakers include Stop Handgun Violence founder John Rosenthal. Hosted by the Beverly Multifaith Coalition. (in case of rain, the location will change to First Parish Church in Beverly)

December 14, 5:30pm; Amesbury, Main Street Congregational UCC, 145 Main Street (at the gazebo): Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook (5:30-6:30) and Conversation about Gun Violence (6:30-7:00).

December 14, 6:00pm; Natick, First Congregational Church in Natick, 2 East Central Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence.

December 14, 6:15pm; Boston, First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, with Speakers and a Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence. Speakers include State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, author and survivor Greg Gibson, Bishop Alan Gates, and Rev. Stephen Kendrick. Hosted by Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

December 14, 7:00pm; Topsfield, The Meeting House of the Congregational Church of Topsfield, 9 E. Common Street: Newtown, An Evening of Remembrance: screening of the documentary Newtown, followed by a candlelight vigil for victims of gun violence, hosted by HUGS (Hands Up for Gun Safety)

December 14, 7:00pm; Hyannis, First Baptist Church, 486 Main Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, hosted by Cape Cod Grandmothers Against Gun Violence

December 16 & 17, time TBD; Williamstown, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 35 Park Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence

Date and time TBD; Westfield, UCC Second Congregational Church, 487 Western Ave: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence.

Thank you for reading through to the end and for your commitment to preventing gun violence. We hope to see you at a vigil this week.

Stay safe and strong.

The Stop Handgun Violence Team

PRESS RELEASE: Stop Handgun Violence Condemns House of Representatives for Passing Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, joined by Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans

Boston – Today the House of Representatives passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, a bill that dismantles state-level concealed carry permitting systems and creates a race to the bottom for safety standards.

“Just two months after the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history, the House of Representatives has chosen blood money campaign contributions over the lives of innocent Americans,” said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence. “It wasn’t enough that 58 people were murdered and 550 injured at a concert in Las Vegas or that 26 were killed in Sutherland Springs during church.  Congress continues to undermine effective and proven state gun laws that save lives, simply to placate their gun industry benefactors whose only concern is to increase gun violence, fear, gun sales and campaign contributions.”

John Rosenthal continued, “Congress is culpable for the dangerous and nonsensical gun policies that make daily mass shootings inevitable, leaving an average of 100 Americans dead and over 200 injured from gun violence every day in the US – with 158,000 dead just since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 and over 1.15 million killed since 1980. Congress took zero action when 20 first graders and six teachers died at Sandy Hook, 32 died at Virginia Tech, 70 were shot at Aurora, 107 killed or injured at Orlando, and – now they are taking action to loosen gun laws. Congress has blood on its hands and this epidemic will only get worse with the passage of this bill. We urge the senate not to pass this bill.”

Commissioner William Evans of the Boston Police Department joined Stop Handgun Violence in opposing the bill. “The Concealed Carry and Reciprocity Act most assuredly puts the safety of all police officers and the public at risk,” said Commissioner Evans. “This dangerous legislation would allow gun owners to bring their guns into Boston unchecked and concealed at a time when my officers are working tirelessly to keep guns and the damage and devastation they cause out of our city. Nobody knows better than local law enforcement officers who should or shouldn’t be permitted to carry a gun in their neighborhood. Taking that authority away from those most qualified to make that determination is irresponsible and dangerous.”

Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, also joined Stop Handgun Violence in opposing this legislation. “In the aftermath of so many mass shootings, it would be tragic for this to become the next deadly loophole in our nation’s gun laws,” said Attorney General Maura Healey. “This legislation is dangerous for the state of Massachusetts, our law enforcement officers, and our residents. We are disappointed in the House for passing this reckless legislation and we urge the Senate to respect state laws, to protect the safety of our communities, and to reject this bill.”

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Stop Handgun Violence (SHV) is a Massachusetts based non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. SHV has been the lead advocate in Massachusetts for enactment of the most effective gun violence prevention laws and first in the nation consumer protection regulations. The organization does not seek to restrict Constitutional rights, but advocates only for common sense legislation that will help save lives. For more information, go to www.stophandgunviolence.org

#StopCCR Open Letter and Day of Action

All hands on deck!

Today (Wednesday 12/6) is the day of action to #StopCCR.

Believe it or not, the U.S. House of Representatives has the audacity to put their most dangerous gun bill in decades–perhaps of all time–up for a floor vote on the same day as the National Vigil to Honor Victims of Gun Violence, coinciding with the 5-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. After all this time and all these mass shootings, all Congress can do is throw more guns at the problem. This has been proven time and time again to be ineffective. Even in the wake of the worst mass shootings in modern American history, Congress is gearing up to do the gun lobby’s dirty work and pass a bill that will weaken our gun laws and make us less safe.

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would allow stalkers, teenagers, and persons convicted of animal cruelty, multiple DUIs, and assaulting police officers to carry loaded, concealed guns in every state in the union. All they would need to do is go to a state that allows violent people like them to carry concealed guns (there are about a dozen of these states).

Over 100 survivors of gun violence who have felt the direct impact of this epidemic shared their stories in an open letter to Congress, urging them to #StopCCR. You can read that letter here.

The House is going to vote on this today. Americans should be outraged. We need your help to stand up to the gun lobby, and stop this dangerous bill. It is extremely urgent! 

The single most important thing we can do right now is drive calls to Congress and tell them to OPPOSE the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. You can find your Representative and their DC office phone number at this website. Here is a sample script of what to say:

Hi, my name is ______ and I’m a constituent of [Your Rep’s name] calling from [Your City/Town]. I’m calling about the gun lobby’s attempts to push its dangerous agenda through Congress. This includes the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill that would severely threaten public safety and put law enforcement at risk. In light of the recent mass shootings, we need [Representative name] to find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and do something to make our communities safer from gun violence.

After do you do that, check out this list of National Vigils being held across Massachusetts. There will be discussions of actions that you can take to stop this dangerous bill and hold members of Congress accountable.

2017 National Vigils for Victims of Gun Violence – Massachusetts Events

December 6, 5:30pm; Warwick, Metcalf Memorial Chapel, 32 Athol Road: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence. Hosted by Trinitarian Congregational Church of Warwick.

December 6, 7:00pm; Westford, Westford Common, 48 Main Street: Candlelight Vigil for Victims of Gun Violence and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, hosted by First Parish Church United, Live for Liv, Westford Coalition for Non-Violence, Indivisible Westford, Westford Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Temple Shalom, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

December 6, 7:00pm; Northborough, Trinity Church, 23 Main Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook

December 6, 7:00pm; Andover, Chinmaya Maruti Temple, 1 Union Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence. Hosted by North Parish of North Andover, UU.

December 10, 10:30am; Arlington, Calvary United Methodist Church, 300 Mass Ave: Remembrance for Sandy Hook Victims and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence

December 13, 7:00pm; Beverly, Ellis Square, 12 Ellis Sq.: Candlelight Vigil for Victims and Call for Action on Gun Violence. Speakers include Stop Handgun Violence founder John Rosenthal. Hosted by the Beverly Multifaith Coalition. (in case of rain, the location will change to First Parish Church in Beverly)

December 14, 5:30pm; Amesbury, Main Street Congregational UCC, 145 Main Street (at the gazebo): Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook (5:30-6:30) and Conversation about Gun Violence (6:30-7:00).

December 14, 6:00pm; Natick, First Congregational Church in Natick, 2 East Central Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence.

December 14, 6:15pm; Boston, First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, with Speakers and a Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence. Speakers include State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, author and survivor Greg Gibson, Bishop Alan Gates, and Rev. Stephen Kendrick. Hosted by Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

December 14, 7:00pm; Topsfield, The Meeting House of the Congregational Church of Topsfield, 9 E. Common Street: Newtown, An Evening of Remembrance: screening of the documentary Newtown, followed by a candlelight vigil for victims of gun violence, hosted by HUGS (Hands Up for Gun Safety)

December 14, 7:00pm; Hyannis, First Baptist Church, 486 Main Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, hosted by Cape Cod Grandmothers Against Gun Violence

December 16 & 17, time TBD; Williamstown, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 35 Park Street: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence

Date and time TBD; Westfield, UCC Second Congregational Church, 487 Western Ave: Candlelight Vigil for Gun Victims and Anniversary of Sandy Hook, and Pledge Drive for Action on Gun Violence.