UPDATE: Speaker Ryan ignored our pleas and the pleas of our #gunsafety champions, and adjourned the U.S. House. But we will continue the fight on their return to Washington, DC, and deliver your message after the Fourth of July weekend, so please continue to sign on! *********** On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted down a gun safety measure, centered on expanding background checks for gun purchases which more than 90% of the public supports. And now, Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives are literally sitting on the floor, in an old-fashioned sit-in, demanding that Speaker Paul Ryan schedule a vote on commonsense gun safety legislation before they leave for the 4th of July recess. Since Newtown, which commanded our attention to the tragedy of American gun violence, the House has not held a single vote on gun policy. NOT ONE. It's time to demand what America really wants and needs: Gun safety policy reform! Tell Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to schedule a vote on gun safety now!

Orlando. Sandy Hook. Columbine. Red Lake, Minnesota. Essex, Vermont. Lancaster. Aurora. Virginia Tech. How many more innocent victims must die at the hands of an antiquated and oft-misinterpreted amendment? Enough. It's time to stop the violence. Gun control doesn't have to mean no guns. I'm not suggesting we take guns away. I'm suggesting we put tighter controls on acquiring and owning them. Gun show loopholes must be stopped. Ammunition should not be sold online. Mandatory wait periods should be enforced, during which time a thorough background check, psychological and medical evaluation, and character references should be completed. More accountability should be placed in the hands of retailers. When patrons refuse wait periods, authorities should be notified. Training and testing should be mandatory, as should a renewal process that includes many of the above-mentioned evaluation terms. Gun owners and non-gun owners need to come together and agree on regulations that protect the right to own a firearm for sane, responsible adults and keep them out of the hands of the mentally unstable. I would hope that we could all agree to submit ourselves to these terms when it's easier to go to a gun show and pick up a firearm than it is to go to the local pharmacy and buy cold medication. Acquiring and owning a gun should be at least as controlled as getting a learner's permit, license, and privilege to drive a car. Gun control alone is not the whole of the solution, but it's a start. And if it keeps guns out of the hands of even one mentally unstable person and saves one sweet life, it's worth it.

This petition seeks to begin limiting access to automatic fire weapons of war in civilian hands. While these weapons are common, it is not in the public interest to increase their availability in the absence of citizen membership in a well-regulated military organization, as the Second Amendment requires.

We must take steps to save lives.The public must let our leadership know we stand behind them. It is only by our speaking out that Congress will be pressured to take necessary sensible gun control action.

This petition will go to all of the Senators who voted against blocking suspected terrorists from being able to buy a gun. "When Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stood on the Senate floor for 15 hours last week, joined by nearly 40 of his colleagues who recounted stories of six-year-olds gunned down by assault weapons and trauma doctors who attempted to resurrect dozens of bullet-pierced bodies in Orlando, he knew he was waging a battle against a powerful force. "On Monday, Republicans in the Senate proved, yet again, how strong the National Rifle Association’s grip is on the nation’s highest lawmaking body. Democrats’ efforts to pass legislation to prevent suspected terrorists from buying firearms and to expand background checks to all gun sales both failed in the Senate. Just 47 senators voted in favor of the first measure and 44 for the second. "Roughly 90 percent of Americans — including 80 percent of gun owners — support these measures. But the gun lobby’s outsized political spending and influence in Congress prevailed. In total, the NRA has given more than $36 million to the 56 Republican senators who blocked the gun control measures on Monday. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)’s measure would have given the attorney general the power to block gun sales to people potential terrorists on the federal government’s watch list. Given that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was under FBI watch for periods of time in the past three years, it’s possible that Feinstein’s measure would have prevented him from purchasing the weapons he used to carry out the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history." -From Think Progress

We lost 49 beautiful young lives in one terrible night. And the more we learn about the Pulse victims, the deeper we feel the loss. These were bright, young lives full of potential. Many were children of immigrants who came to Central Florida seeking a better life for their families. Many had found it right here in our community. It is shocking that one man, filled with hate, could cause so much carnage. It is maddening that this hateful man with a history of domestic abuse was under investigation for terrorism ties – yet, had no problem legally buying an AR-15 military-style assault weapon. I’ve had enough. If Congress won't act, we should. That’s why I’m calling for a special session of the Florida Legislature to pass meaningful, commonsense, lifesaving gun safety reform. My proposal: Let’s ban gun sales in Florida to anyone on the “no fly” and terrorist watch lists. It’s a commonsense idea that enjoys broad support in Florida and across the country. It also could have potentially stopped the shooter from buying the weapon that allowed him to kill so many people. Our call for reform immediately put us in the crosshairs of the Florida NRA. After we called for a special session, this is what they had to say: “These ultra liberal, gun hating Democrats, should be ashamed.” - NRA Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer Let’s stand up to the gun lobby together. Add your name right now to demand a special session to pass gun safety reform NOW! -- Senator Darren Soto

998 mass shootings of at least four people in each incident have occurred in the United States since the massacre of children in Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012. (Source: The Nation magazine, 6/16/2016.) Remember these mass murders? — Orlando, June, 2016: 49 people gunned down in cold blood San Bernadino, December, 2015: 14 people gunned down in cold blood Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, June, 2015: 9 people gunned down in cold blood Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, CT, 2012: 26 people, 20 of them young children, gunned down in cold blood Remember them? How can we forget them! The common denominator in every single one of these incidents—as well as in the more than 10,000 homicide gun deaths that take place in the United States each year—is guns. We can’t count on the U.S. Congress to take effective action to reduce gun violence. The last time they passed any significant law to reduce gun violence was in 1994–over twenty years ago. That law expired in 2004 and Congress has refused to renew it. Each one of the proposed laws being considered by the California legislature right now is one step toward reducing gun violence in California. Sign the petition to urge our legislators to pass these laws, and to urge Governor Brown to sign them into law.

We HAVE to stop gun violence in the United States. If our legislators won't pass reasonable gun control laws then we need NEW Legislators who will. Check the NRA contribution list at: http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000000082&cycle=2014

Following the horrific attack in Orlando, and following scores of equally horrifying attacks throughout the nation, caused by easy access to assault weapons, ineffective background check regulations, and unrestricted access to weapons for suspected terrorists, it is time to ACT. If Congress finds itself under the control of NRA lobbyists, it is time for the American People to have a voice in this matter through common-sense ballot measures.

There are more mass shootings in the U.S. than in any other country in the world. It is reported that U.S. is home to nearly a third of world’s mass shootings.[1] There is a culture of violence in our country and it is resulting in numerous innocent lives lost. As of December 23, 2015 a total of 12,942 people had been killed in the United States in 2015 in a gun homicide, unintentional shooting, or murder/suicide. Mass shootings — as measured by four or more people shot, regardless of total fatalities — have taken place in nearly 100 metro areas over the past 12 months.[2] Mass shootings account for less than 2% of annual gun deaths. However, the recent Orlando attack is being used by islamophobes to misdirect it towards Islam and Muslims because the shooter this time happened to be Muslim. It is important to realize that most mass shooters in the U.S. are non-Muslims. There have been 26 mass shootings since the last deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history in 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech. Only four of these shootings were done by Muslims. Total number of innocent victims killed were 277. Number of victims killed by Muslim mass shooters is 82 and 195 by non-Muslims.[3] The main factor which connects all of these mass shootings is easy access to guns. It is not about religion, rather, gun control. There is strong evidence to indicate that gun control can work, but it needs to be intelligently designed, effectively implemented and responsive to ongoing changes in criminal activity.[4] Canada and Australia both introduced strong gun control laws after mass shooting massacres in their countries which have been successful. It is interesting to note that “Canada’s efforts are rather undermined by the lax gun laws of its neighbor to the south. An overwhelming number of criminal handguns intercepted by the police in Canada are illegally sourced from the US.”[5] In many cases, the weapon of choice for these mass shooters is an assault rifle. It is now time for Congress to ban assault rifles. These instruments of death are available to be purchased on-line, at trade shows, and at gun brokers around our country. We also need to have tougher background checks and close loopholes that allow people to purchase guns without background checks. We must also ban convicted domestic abusers and stalkers from buying guns. Let us disarm the hate and stop the blame game. Please sign this petition and let Congress know that we as Americans demand the following to make America safe for all of us: · Ban assault rifles completely from our society · Make tougher background checks and close loopholes that allow people to purchase guns without background checks · Ban convicted domestic abusers and stalkers from buying guns · Enact other aspects of common sense gun reform [1] http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/health/mass-shootings-in-america-in-charts-and-graphs-trnd/ [2] https://www.thetrace.org/2015/12/gun-violence-stats-2015/ [3] http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/mass-shootings-timeline.html [4] https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-does-gun-control-work-18374 [5] Ibid

I've never been more proud to be a constituent of CT than today, watching my Senators Murphy and Blumenthal live on the Senate floor, filibustering the Senate to take action on common-sense gun safety measures that most Americans support. I live next door to Sandy Hook, CT and am committed to garnering the collective will to empower systemic action in the wake of mass deadly shootings in public sanctuaries that we hope our families, neighbors, and friends could gather and associate freely in civil safety once more.

This filibuster is just getting underway. It is important that the good Senator from Connecticut know of our support and gratitude.