5 Things To Do Today for Gun Violence Prevention

Number One

Call or email the Massachusetts Speaker of the House and thank him for proposing meaningful gun violence prevention legislation- Yesterday Speaker DeLeo proposed the most comprehensive gun legislation Massachusetts has seen in 16 years. The bill includes mandatory background checks for all private sales, mental health compliance with the national background check system, suicide prevention training for police, school officers, physicians and firearm owners and police discretion for issuing firearm identification cards, amongst other provisions. For more information about the bill, see http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/05/27/deleo-bill-pushes-for-stronger-massachusetts-gun-laws/. If we can get this passed by the House and Senate, it will be a huge victory for gun violence prevention and Massachusetts.  Call (617 722-2500) or email (Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov)  Speaker DeLeo and thank him for his courage.

Number Two

Call your state representative and ask them to support Speaker DeLeo’s bill: While we appreciate all that Speaker DeLeo has done, it is going to take a team of Representatives to get the bill to the Senate for a vote.  Call your representative and tell them to “Keep Massachusetts a national leader in gun violence prevention, vote in favor of Speaker DeLeo’s bill”. Find your representative here: http://wheredoivotema.com

Number Three

Call your U.S. State Representative and ask them to support more funding for background checks: In light of the tragedies at U.C. Santa Barbara, tonight Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Peter King (R-NY) will be offering a bi-partisan amendment in the US House of Representatives to the FY15 Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations bill (HR 4660).  The amendment will increase the National Instant Background Checks (NICS) funding by $19.5 million so that states can get more of their records into the NICS database. Find your Federal Representative here:http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Number Four

Divest your 401K from publicly traded firearm companies:  Firearm companies care about one thing- selling more guns, no matter who the buyer is. From the firearm company’s perspective criminals, teens and violent mentally ill people are just more dollar signs, extricate your profits from theirs.  If you’re not sure if your 401K is invested in a publicly traded firearm manufacturer, you can find out here:www.UnloadYour401k.com

Number Five

Don’t shop at Cerberus subsidiaries- Shaw’s, Star Market, Acme, Albertsons, Osco Drug: Cerberus is the parent company of Freedom Group/Remington Arms the largest firearm manufacturing group in the nation. Their products include the firearms used at Newtown, the Navy Yard and the Webster Firefighter shootings. After Newtown, Cerberus promised to sell Freedom Group, however in the 18 months since that shooting, they have done nothing and they’ve watched their profits soar. While Cerberus is a private company, there is something we can do to tell them their behavior is unacceptable- we can stop shopping at their other companies.  Cerberus owns many grocery stores including Shaw’s, Star Market, Acme, Albertsons and Osco Drug!

Our Soldiers Deserve Better

Texas is a patriotic place.

About ten percent of the domestic U.S. Military population is stationed there. In addition, the state is home to the second highest number of wounded and killed soldiers from both the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Unfortunately, it’s also a place where U.S. service men and women come home and are not safe, as last night’s tragedy made clear. In fact, more US service men and women have been shot or killed at Fort Hood Texas over the past 5 years than killed in most parts of Iraq during the entire conflict there (ten out of eighteen Iraqi provinces had less U.S. casualties).

Unfortunately, safety for Texan soldiers doesn’t begin when they leave work either. Gun deaths are higher in Texas than the national average.  Part of the reason is that Texas has weak gun laws. Texas not only does not require a background check for private sales, they also require no licensing for most firearm owners. In addition, there are no restrictions on assault weapons and large capacity magazines and zero consumer safety standards. Taken together these policies leave about 10% of our service men and women, many of which have fought for our country, completely exposed at home.

Now is OUR time to fight for our soldiers. We need to enact uniform Federal gun laws that protect every soldier, so that coming home is not just changing war zones.  

Will smart gun technology save lives?

What if there was a way to prevent 1 in 25 homicides of law enforcement officers?

Stop Handgun Violence founder, John Rosenthal, believes that there is a way- personalized gun technology. Besides law enforcement officers, it could save countless lives of children who use a gun in the home to shoot themselves and other children.

Looking for more? Check out John Rosenthal’s blog on the topic on Huffington Post.

What do Bread, Butter and Bullets all have in common?

What do bread, butter and bullets all have in common? Depending on where you shop, they may all be sold by the same company.

I’d like to invite you to join Stop Handgun Violence in boycotting Shaw’s, Star Market, Albertson’s, Acme and Osco Drugs.  But first, I’d like to explain why.

Shaw’s, Star Market, Albertson’s, Acme and Osco Drug are all owned by the parent company and Wall St. private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus is also the owner of Freedom Group (sometimes referred to as Remington Outdoor Company). Over the last eight years, Freedom Group has acquired a variety of firearm and ammunition manufacturers, including Bushmaster, Remington, DPMS/Panther Arms, Marlin, H&R, The Parker Gun, Mountain Khakis, Advanced Armament Corp., Dakota Arms, Para USA and Barnes Bullets.  As a result of these acquisitions Freedom Group now represents about 20% of the firearm and accessory industry.

Guns manufactured by Freedom Group have been used in multiple mass shootings since the company began acquiring manufacturers. For example, the Washington Naval Yard shooter, Aaron Alexis, used a Remington 870 shotgun, the D.C. snipers and Newtown, Conn., Sandy Hook Elementary School shooters both used a Bushmaster AR 15 assault rifle and the Webster, New York shooter used a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle when he killed volunteer firefighters responding to a fire.

After the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook, Cerberus vowed to sell off Freedom Group and divest itself from the firearm industry. Instead, the company has profited from increased sales and has had zero accountability for its promise.

We are asking you to join us as we take action and vote with our wallets. Please download, print and sign this letter and bring it to your local Shaw’s, Star Market, Osco, Acme or Albertsons store Manager. Tell them why your family’s new diet will be gun-industry-free.

This is a great opportunity to think globally and act locally, at least until Cerberus divests itself from making killing machines, such as the Bushmaster AR 15 used to massacre innocent children and caregivers at Sandy Hook.

Thank you very much for your consideration and continued support!

New Hampshire House of Representatives fail to approve HB 1589, requiring criminal background checks on commercially marketed private gun sales

Joint Statement From Granite State Progress and Stop Handgun Violence:

Concord, NH- New Hampshire House of Representatives refused to take a commonsense step today when they failed to approve background checks for all commercially-marketed private gun sales.

“For years, New Hampshire has allowed guns to be sold by private dealers without a background check or even proof of ID at gun shows, online and at flea markets. As a result it has been a major crime gun source state for states with stronger gun laws, like Massachusetts and New York,” said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence. “New Hampshire’s failure to take this first step to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and other prohibited persons is dangerous, irresponsible and will continue to result in many more preventable gun deaths in Massachusetts and underscores the need for stronger gun laws nationally.”

Granite State Progress lobbied in support of the bill. Members of the group attended the vote that ultimately lead to the bill being voted down, including their executive director, Zandra Rice-Hawkins. “We applaud the State Representatives who stood by the 89 percent of Granite Staters who support criminal background checks,” said Zandra Rice-Hawkins.  “While the final vote was disappointing, the earlier votes demonstrated strong support in the New Hampshire House to pass a background checks bill. Granite State Progress is committed to reducing gun violence in our communities and improving public safety. We will use today’s vote to further our cause.”

Stop Handgun Violence is a non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. 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.

Granite State Progress works to engage citizens from across the state around issues of immediate state or local concern. Their mission is to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive solutions to critical community problems. For more information, go to http://www.granitestateprogress.org.

Stop Handgun Violence Founder Pleased and Encouraged by Report of the Massachusetts Committee to Reduce Firearm Violence

Boston, MA- “Stop Handgun Violence is pleased and encouraged by the Report of the Committee to Reduce Firearm Violence presented to House Speaker Bob DeLeo and released today,” said John Rosenthal, founder of the 19-year-old organization.

“The Committee’s analysis of gun violence and their suggestions to strengthen existing law in the Commonwealth are both realistic and practical. The report emphasizes the link between effective gun laws here in Massachusetts and the resulting relatively low firearm homicide and suicide rates in the Commonwealth when compared with other states – even as it acknowledges that there is still room for improvement in existing Massachusetts law to further reduce preventable gun violence.

The Committee suggests that all sales of firearms (private and public) take place through a licensed firearms dealer to ensure that background checks are current and accurate.  It also recommends that police chiefs have discretion for licensing rifles and shotguns – a provision, which does not exist in current Massachusetts law, and it encourages compliance with the NICS database requirements for “adjudicated” mentally ill patients. At the same time, the Committee suggests standardization and less overall licensing discretion and that Commonwealth firearm licenses should remain valid during the renewal process to accommodate administrative delays.  All of these suggestions make sense and further strengthen our already best-in-the-nation gun laws.

I was pleased that the Committee took the opportunity to be bold and, yet, thoughtful and balanced in their recommendations.  I hope the Legislature enacts these recommendations since these provisions will save lives and ensure that Massachusetts maintains its status as a national leader in gun violence prevention.”

Stop Handgun Violence will continue to advocate strongly for further improvements to the Massachusetts gun laws which were not among the Committee’s recommendations, including:

  • Ability for the Secretary of Public Safety to add “copycat” weapons, such as the Bushmaster AR 15 used at Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, to the list of permanently banned assault weapons in Massachusetts.
  • Prohibition on carrying more than one high capacity ammunition magazine.
  • Limit gun purchases by individuals to one per month

 

Stop Handgun Violence is a non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. 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.

ON FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF SANDY HOOK MASSACRE, “STOP HANDGUN VIOLENCE” TO UNVEIL NEW BILLBOARD ALONG MASS PIKE NEAR FENWAY

Billboard Will Count the Number of Americans killed by Guns Since the Massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Call For Banning Assault Weapons to Prevent Similar Tragedies

 

BOSTON, MA – On Dec. 14, 2012, twenty elementary school children and six of their caregivers were gunned down with a Bushmaster AR 15 assault weapon. This tragic event was met with sympathetic words from Congress, but no action whatsoever. Our nation’s gun laws are as loose today as they were the day those innocent children and heroic adults were senselessly murdered.

Stop Handgun Violence, a non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws, is changing its billboard along the Mass Pike near Fenway Park to mark the Sandy Hook anniversary, and jump-start a grassroots movement to advocate for Congressional action on common sense gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks.

Since 1995, Stop Handgun Violence has sponsored the Mass Pike billboard to remind people of the senseless loss of life as a result of the nation’s lax gun laws. The most recent billboard highlights the need for a renewal of the assault weapon ban and the number of children killed by guns since the 2010 elections.

WHO:                       John Rosenthal, founder, Stop Handgun Violence

WHAT:                     Unveiling of new billboard to commemorate the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and call for Congressional action on sensible gun laws

WHEN:                    Friday, December 13 at 11 a.m.

WHERE:                  Corner of Brookline Ave. and Newbury Street Extension (along Mass Pike behind Kenmore Square)

 

Stop Handgun Violence is a non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. 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.

 

 

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