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.