Because the NRA hides behind silence and lies, whichever suits their purpose best at the time.

My name is Sean Tanabe and I am a third-year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a proud Gaucho. I write this petition with the utmost solidarity. I have witnessed firsthand the pain, sadness, and shock that has rocked our community to its core. At the Memorial service several days after the shooting, I was inspired from my seat in the stands to do something more. If you want to make tangible progress on this pressing issue, then I urge you to sign this petition. Ending gun violence will not be easy, but I promise that if we unite on this issue as students, we will not be ignored. We are the future, and as the future it is our duty to take this issue into our own hands and work to create a society we desire to thrive in. We are far from powerless. We are not only capable of sharing a hashtag and spreading awareness on social media. We CAN cultivate real, positive change. It feels as if our generation has become almost numb due to the normalization of these shooting attacks in the US. This is far from normal. We are affected nationwide; from Aurora to Newtown, Chicago to Tucson, Blacksburg to Isla Vista and beyond. Uniting as a generation on this issue will place the power back where it should be: in the hands of those it most strongly affects. Voting is important, but here's something you can do to have a more immediate effect. Divestment is a new front in the war to end the epidemic of gun violence. Its focus is on the corporate elements that are profiting from readily available and barely-regulated firearms that are responsible for over 30,000 American deaths every year, including the 20 first-graders and six educators killed with a military-style assault weapon at Sandy Hook Elementary. Congress -- the “craven, irresponsible politicians,” as Richard Martinez labeled them -- has failed its constituents, 85% of whom support a bill to make every potential gun purchaser go through a background check. We must use our wallets to take a stand to this gross lack of morality. -->Read in The Nation about the call for divestment after the UCSB shooting. http://www.thenation.com/article/180021/how-uc-santa-barbara-can-turn-grief-action-divest-gun-manufacturers# The gun industry -- led by Remington Outdoor, Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Smith & Wesson – has profited even as more Americans are killed by the products they manufacture and aggressively market. The value of these companies has grown significantly just as the rate of mass shootings has increased. (Watch this video to learn more: www.unloadyour401k.com.) How can this be occurring? Gun companies are donating substantial sums of money to the NRA. With that financial clout, the NRA is able to quell attempts at enacting practical gun laws. To communicate efficiently, we must speak their (monetary) language. Luckily, we students are not alone. Occidental College started the movement in February by becoming the first higher education institution to pledge to ban investments in companies that manufacture military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for the general public. Universities should lead on this issue to ensure that they do not further the epidemic of gun violence by financially supporting the companies that largely allow this calamitous cycle to continue. Note: This petition will not end gun violence overnight. But as ancient philosopher Laozi asserts, “the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” That stair awaits you above. Sign this petition to stand with the UCSB community and call for divestment from the gun industry. Ultimately, this change depends on us. Thank you. Respectfully, Sean Tanabe *Note: An earlier version of this petition incorrectly identified the shooter as a UCSB student. He was a student at Santa Barbara City College.

*UPDATE: Three weeks ago, Santa Barbara. Last week, Seattle. This last weekend, Las Vegas. HOW MANY MORE? Take action now! In Santa Barbara, Richard Martinez lost his son and only child, Chris, when Elliot Rodger went on a deadly rampage, taking six young lives and then his own. “This death has left our family lost and broken,” said Martinez. “Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven irresponsible politicians and the N.R.A. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop?” [1] Out of his unimaginable grief, this father found the strength to demand “immediate action” from our national leaders to curb gun violence by passing stricter gun-safety laws.[2] Martinez vowed, “I’m going to ask every person I can find to send a postcard to every politician they can think of with three words on it: Not one more… I’m asking people to stand up for something. Enough is enough.[3]” Our hearts break for Richard Martinez and all the families who lost their children to gun violence that day. Stand with Richard Martinez. Tell Congress: “I join Richard Martinez and demand immediate action to curb gun violence— NOT ONE MORE. Pass gun safety policies like comprehensive background checks on all gun purchases now.” We will send your message of support to Richard Martinez and to our national leaders in Washington, D.C. [1] “Roommates, 'a really great kid' among victims,” CNN, May 26, 2014. [2] “Father of victim in Santa Barbara shootings to politicians: ‘I don’t care about your sympathy,’” Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post, May 27, 2014. [3] Ibid.

The father of one of the victims from the UCSB shooting asked everyone to stand up and do something, so I am starting this petition: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/father-of-victim-in-santa-barbara-shootings-to-politicians-i-dont-care-about-your-sympathy/2014/05/27/8a030d10-e5ad-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html?tid=sm_fb Sign it. Send a message to your elected officials. Let's begin to end the madness.

Last month 6 Santa Barbara students were killed, 3 with legally purchased handguns; 5 more were shot. Then? Shootings in Seattle, Las Vegas, and Portland. Congress needs to legislate reasonable and responsible controls on guns and ammunition -- common sense breaks on free and too-easy access to automatic and semiautomatic weapons. Lack of reasonable and responsible gun controls has no place in a free and safe society.

As part of the Isla Vista and University of California, Santa Barbara community, we are heartbroken over the recent mass shootings claiming the lives of our students, and historically in the US. How many more have to die before our Representatives take responsibility and acknowledge popular support for the creation of sensible policies restricting gun ownership to curb deaths from gun violence? We demand action be taken to enact strict regulations on firearms to prevent yet another mass shooting tragedy. This might include multiple policies such as: enacting tougher background checks, longer waiting periods, outlawing automatic weapons, requiring psychiatric evaluation, incentivizing the return of firearms to law enforcement, etc.

AFTER HEARING THE FATHER OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS, NAMED MARTINEZ, SAY HE NEVER COULD BELIEVE IT COULD HAPPEN TO HIS SON AND IT IS TIME WASHINGTON STOPPED BEING AFRAID OF THE NRA AND THINK OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY, NOT THEIR OWN POLITICAL GAINS!!!

We have a society that ignores facts. It helps if the facts are ubiquitous and everywhere in evidence.

The State of Georgia grants citizens the right to drive, but prohibits drinking while driving as a matter of public safety. The State has recently expanded the rights of individuals to carry guns. The State should recognize its obligation to protect its citizens by prohibiting the sale of alcohol to persons carrying firearms.

For years the NRA has fought any form of reasonable gun legislation, even changes supported by a majority of its own members. By boycotting those companies that support the NRA, we can bring an economic impact to an otherwise purely political argument. Like the Flush Rush campaign, this economic approach might make these companies reconsider their positions.

The fatal shooting of high school student Diren Dede has raised an international outcry. Montanans must join in the outrage. Homeowners cannot be given immunity for shooting an alleged intruder. This young man's death demands that we revise state gun laws so that this never happens again.

A man carrying a gun stalked a children’s baseball game in Forsyth County, Georgia this week. Over twenty 911 calls were made, mostly by parents fearing for the safety of their children. But the sheriff said they could do nothing, and the man knew that too. Georgia just passed HB 60—the “Guns Everywhere Bill”—which allows owners to carry their guns in public places like restaurants, churches, bars, schools, libraries, youth centers and sports arenas. The police weren’t even allowed to stop him just to ask if he had a license. Sign the petition: Denounce the NRA, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia state legislature for making it legal to stalk a children's baseball game with a gun.