As our nation reckons with the epidemic of gun violence and as a vast majority of Americans support more restrictions, we can't let our gun laws be limited by Republican obstructionism, the power of the gun lobby, or a handful right-wing justices with whom Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump packed the Supreme Court to further the agenda of right-wing zealots. Congress has a popular mandate to act—and now is the time. We had an assault weapons ban within the past two decades, and Congress must vote to reinstate it immediately. The assault weapons ban was initially supported by bipartisan consensus—and voters of all walks of life agree that AR-15s have no place in civilian life and are not what the framers of the Constitution envisioned in drafting the Bill of Rights. During the Bush presidency, Republicans in control of Congress let it lapse—and the results have been devastating. Massacre after massacre occur because of military-grade assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and the fast and deadly impact of these weapons. Without AR-15s and other assault weapons, the incidence of mass gun violence would drop immediately. Many Republican voters agree with these measures, but Republican elected officials, who are in a ghoulish embrace with the NRA and others in the gun lobby, want to talk about anything other than guns when it comes to gun violence. That's why Republican leaders need to hear loud and clear: Voters expect you to take real action and will respect you for passing an assault weapons ban and other commonsense measures. Please add you name: Congress must reinstate the assault weapons ban immediately. And we'll make sure Democrats know momentum is on their side to push forward, that sensible Republicans see they have the mandate to bring bipartisan support to such a measure, and that the rest of the Republicans know they'll be held accountable for choosing assault weapons over our children and communities.

Think back to when you were 18, 19, even 21, did you have need for a automatic rifle? Or even a handgun? So, why would we sell guns to 18 year olds? With no training, little background info, and zero questioning, we let a child buy weapons that kill. Are you comfortable with this? Please help raise this ridiculous legal age limit to something other than 18.

Gun control bills, such as H.R.8 and H.R.1446 have passed in the House but stalled in the Senate. This is, in large part, due to the NRA investing millions of dollars to influence lawmakers. The NRA non-profit status allows them to increase profits for the gun industry, at the expense of all of our lives. The mounting evidence against them—in terms of how they handle their non-profit funds—only increases every year. The government works for the people, and the IRS can take action to protect the most vulnerable in our society by investigating the NRA for misappropriation of funds.

According to the GVA, the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 213 mass shootings in 2022 thus far. In 2021 there were 692, and in 2020: 610. The US gun industry is making record profits while there are record numbers of mass shootings every year. Their sales of these assault weapons is literally supporting domestic terrorism. Blood is on their hands and they must be stopped and held accountable. Our country is living with the terror of gun violence daily; the gun manufacturers have been better protected than our children! This must stop now.

There’s something deeply troubling when attack after attack on our schools, places of worship, and community institutions simply go on without any government response other than thoughts, prayers, and soundbites on cable tv. While there are differences of opinion on the NRA and the exact current day interpretation of the Second Amendment, we should all be able to agree that it’s inappropriate for the largest gun lobbying organization in the world to host a celebratory convention in the very same state as this week’s mass elementary school shooting. Tell the NRA and Houston First Corporation to cancel the convention.

There’s something deeply troubling when attack after attack on our schools, places of worship, and community institutions simply go on without any government response other than thoughts, prayers, and soundbites on cable tv. A right-wing racist gunned down ten community members in a Buffalo, NY supermarket. The attack on a Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Hills, CA was carried out with two legally purchased guns and bags containing incendiary devices and extra ammunition. And the horrifying attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX killed at least nineteen students and two adults with weapons legally purchased by the teen shooter. The gun homicide rate in the United States is 25 times higher than that of other developed countries. Congress must act to pass meaningful legislation immediately. Our families are under attack, and shouldn’t have to live in constant fear of our safety for one more moment. We cannot let the NRA’s political agenda win out over what we all know is safest for our own families and communities.

There’s something deeply troubling when attack after attack on our schools, places of worship, and community institutions simply go on without any government response beyond thoughts, prayers, and soundbites on cable tv. A right-wing racist gunned down ten community members in a Buffalo, NY supermarket. The attack on a Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Hills, CA was carried out with two legally purchased guns and bags containing incendiary devices and extra ammunition. And the horrifying attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX killed at least nineteen students and two adults with weapons legally purchased by the teen shooter. The gun homicide rate in the United States is 25 times higher than that of other developed countries. Congress must act to pass meaningful legislation immediately. Our families are under attack, and shouldn’t have to live in constant fear of our safety for one more moment. The United States House passed a bill years ago that would require background checks and waiting periods for anyone wanting to buy a gun. These are basic protections we need to start keeping our kids safe, but Republicans in the Senate have blocked it. The bill is up for a vote again in the Senate soon - urge your Senators to pass it - and go even farther to make sure we don’t lose even more elementary school kids.

THE MORAL IMPERATIVE: We are mourning. Children should not be sent to school to die. They deserve to live in a country that is safe, to learn and to grow without the threat of violence in their communities. Hosting the annual meeting of the lobby that has recklessly endangered their lives is a moral affront. THE ASK: We call for a national pledge to boycott the George R. Brown Convention Center and Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel unless the upcoming NRA annual meeting is canceled. We ask that those who sign on exercise our collective power against the assaults and complicity.

How is it that we are in this position again? Mass shooting after mass shooting and now back again at a grade school. The American people should not have to fear for their lives every time they see a movie, go to church, shop for groceries or drop their child off at school. Countries all over the world have taken a stand against gun violence by implementing stricter laws and regulations, resulting in near-immediate results. We demand stricter gun control now. Thoughts and prayers do not cut it anymore.

The Buffalo shooter posted a white supremacist, anti-Semitic manifesto. It clearly shows that he had been radicalized radicalized by the repugnant, baseless “Great Replacement” theory, a conspiracy theory that preposterously asserts that white Americans are being purposely and intentionally replaced by immigrants and people of color to dilute the power of the white majority. The shooter joins a tragically long list of mass murderers driven by hate, including the shooters at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, WI, Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Walmart in El Paso, the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, sites in Atlanta, Indianapolis, and many other places. The white supremacy that led to the murders in Buffalo and to all the other racially motivated shootings reaches all the way up to the highest echelons of our society and government. In Congress, some elected leaders are weaponizing racist disinformation about everything from Critical Race Theory to gender-affirming care, from investments in a care infrastructure to ending mass incarceration and criminalization, in order to stoke fears and hold onto their power. In fact, some extremist members of Congress, including Representatives Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and even Elisa Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking House Republican, who echoed the repugnant “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory in her fundraising, are helping to mainstream false, reprehensible white supremacy. Other members of Congress have been notably silent when racially motivated acts of horrific violence, such as what happened in Buffalo, occur. Don’t let your member of Congress support or ignore white supremacy and the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. Demand that they publicly and loudly denounce it now.

Authorities have found a 180-page manifesto, authored by the shooter, in which he identifies as a white supremacist and antisemite and describes his intention to attack a Black neighborhood. In his manifesto, the shooter spoke extensively about the “great replacement theory,” which asserts that white people are being driven out and replaced by nonwhite people in Western societies. This theory is just white supremacy by a different name. At its core, it's a justification for anti-Black ideology that is as old as our country and has been used to rationalize slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, our carceral state, and more. We need to be direct about it and call it what it is: It’s racism. It’s white supremacy. It’s gun violence. All of which are brutal, great dangers to our communities, especially Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color. It’s time to end gun violence now. One of the ways forward is to address the root causes of gun violence, because these dangers are not new. Since America’s colonial beginning, white people with power have used guns to colonize, enslave, and commit genocide against Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.  The gun violence that we continue to experience day after day in America is very much rooted in our nation's history of violent white supremacy. This is why we must stay committed to fighting back against these ideologies. Together, we can imagine and build a world free from white supremacy, gun violence, police violence, and so much more.

Black Californians are about three times more likely to be seriously injured, shot, or killed by the police relative to their share of the state’s population (Public Policy Institute of California, October 2021). California has already implemented many reforms through state legislation, including requiring local law enforcement agencies to report incidents of serious use of force, permitting public access to law enforcement records for certain misconduct and use-of-force incidents, and establishing an independent board and data collection effort aimed at reducing racial disparities in police encounters (Public Policy Institute of California, October 2021). Although these efforts may be valiant, there is still room for continued change in decreasing the amount of deaths due to excessive force and police brutality. Through the passage of Assembly-Bill 89, California police officers will be required to be trained at a state standard. Along with this, officers will be required to obtain either an associates or a bachelors degree. These changes will allow police officers across the state to be held to a higher standard and training program as well as increasing education has shown that it can decrease excessive use of force. T