BOTH responsible gun owners and non-gun owners demand action. The open carrying of firearms on the streets and in places like restaurants, grocery stores, malls, playgrounds, parks and neighborhoods intimidates the public, wastes law enforcement resources, and increases the risk that someone will be injured or killed from the accidental or intentional use of firearms. Open carry advocates create a potentially very dangerous situation. When law enforcement is called to a "man with a gun" call, they are responding to a situation about which they have few details other than that one or more people are present at a location and are armed. Consequently, the law enforcement response is one of "hypervigilant urgency" in order to protect the public from an armed threat. When ELECTED OFFICIALS do not take action to prevent gun violence, Americans will take matters into their own hands with their VOTES. Let these political candidates know that they will NOT get your VOTE unless they address gun violence and implement change. BOTH responsible gun owners and non-gun owners demand action. All 50 states now have some form of Concealed Carry; open carry is no longer a necessary option. The carrying of unloaded rifles has absolutely no defensive utility other than to be used for the express purpose of intimidation. Simply because one has the "right" to do something, does not make it the right thing to do.

As parents, educators and citizens concerned about violence in schools we demand repeal of the recently approved law allowing teachers to carry weapons in schools. Teachers should teach. Fully funding the school foundation formula, universal Pre-K and full-service, community based schools should be a higher priority than arming teachers.

CCW permit holders need laws that make sense and are standardized. Shaneen Allen is an example of what went wrong, prosecuted for a misunderstanding. Pistol permits/CCW/concealed carry should be allowed nationally as drivers licenses are recognized nationally. Email/write/call your senator and congressmen to bring back HR 822 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Florida 790.29 is UNCONSTITUTIONAL... What part of SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED do they not understand????!!!!

There is a direct connection between gun violence and domestic violence: When a domestic abuser has a gun, a victim is 12 times more likely to die than when he doesn’t. One in four American women experiences physical violence from an intimate partner, and every month 46 women are killed by an intimate partner with a gun. We need to tell Congress that too many women are dying. Over twenty years ago Congress passed the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). We’ve made progress, but we need Congress to step up and plug the loopholes to protect all women now. Congress already expanded VAWA to make it a crime for those convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor to buy or possess a gun. Now we need to expand protection to include women in dating relationships, and to prevent stalkers from owning guns. States United to Prevent Gun Violence and the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus are partnering to deliver the message to Congress: "Step up and protect all women NOW by preventing stalkers and violent dating partners from buying and possessing guns".

I am starting this petition to save lives and to make the country safer and more just for my daughter and myself and everyone. This is my home. I don't want to have to move to England, where I don't have to worry about as much gun violence. This is a fight to make our homeland a better place without running to a gated community or suburbs or a safer city.

The surrounding States of MA, CT, MD, NY and NJ have all limited firearm magazine capacity because it will save lives in a mass shooting. As a life long gun owner I support joining our neighbors in this common sense measure to protect our citizens.

Because Americans are guaranteed a right, and duty, in our constitution to stand up to and overthrow tyrannical governments. I hope it never comes to that, but if it does, it would be impossible to do with a militarized police force.

When the community of Ferguson, Missouri demanded answers in the death Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old killed by a police officer, they were met with force more appropriate for a war zone than a suburban town of 21,000 residents. Police officers unleashed tear gas, rubber bullets, and hovering helicopters on residents mourning their community’s tragedy. Ferguson’s residents face racial discrimination in their community every day. 67% of Ferguson’s residents are black, just three police officers, one city council member, and no school board members are black. While the majority of people who live in the town are black, the people making decisions about who has value, and a say, in their community are white. When hundreds of residents rallied to remember and to grieve, the everyday policing biases they faced quickly escalated. Police officers dressed like soldiers armed with military-grade weapons looked like they were there to lead a tactical assault -- not help a community in crisis cope with a tragic loss. When weapons from the battlefield end up on our streets, no community is safe. Join us in calling on your Governor to opt-out of the militarization of our neighborhoods and take executive action rejecting military-grade weapons available through the Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program. These weapons shouldn’t be anywhere, much less our back yards. Why does Ferguson, a town of 21,000, have a police force with access to helicopters, rubber bullets, and tear gas? In 1991, Congress established the LESO program which allows the Defense Department to transfer excess property to state agencies who request them. The property is given to agencies -- police departments, fish and wildlife services, and state universities alike -- as-is and must be used by the agency within a year. LESO gives these agencies access to tanks, helicopters, tear gas, machine guns, armored cars, night-vision equipment, and more battlefield-tested equipment. In 2013 alone, more than $440 million in supplies were doled out to agencies in all 50 states. These weapons do not belong in our neighborhoods or in the hands of our communities police forces. When combined with systemic policing bias toward communities of color, our citizens are less safe at the hands of those sworn to protect them. We don’t know where the next Ferguson may be, but so long as LESO continues to provide military-grade weapons to local law enforcement the threat remains. We urge Governors to opt-out of these programs to ensure the safety and uphold the civil rights of their communities.

I worked for five years on gun safety issues. I know first hand that allowing more guns into our community will put our neighbors at risk. Our elected leaders should be writing our laws, not a federal judge in New York.

Members of the group Sandy Hook Promise (Families of the children murdered in Sandy Hook Elementary) traveled from Connecticut to Governor Christie’s office in NJ last week to deliver a petition with 55,000 signatures asking him to sign a bill . The Bill was passed by both houses of the State Legislature, the Bill was to reduce magazine capacity from 15 rounds to 10 rounds. The Governor refused to meet with them, saying his mind was made up. An hour after Sandy Hook Promise left the State house, Christie vetoed the bill. If the bill was passed it would prevent future tragedies just as these families endured. If the gunman at Sandy Hook were forced to reload more often, a greater number of those children would still be alive, which is why this bill is extremely significant. Governor Christie talks about mental health reform when it comes to gun violence, if he truly wanted reform it would include the mental health reform he proposes PLUS the limitation on high capacity magazines. .

The facts are simple: You don't need big magazines for self-defense or hunting, and less bullets at a time means more possible lives saved.