Members of Congress must take the #NoNRAMoney pledge!

The mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas was the 22nd school shooting of the year. [1] Again, we are reeling from news stories and images of dead, injured and terrified children who look too much like our own, of loved ones consumed by unbearable grief, and of another community broken by gun violence.

There is one major obstacle in the way of stemming our country's gun violence epidemic and preventing such tragedies from happening again: The influence of the NRA and gun industry PACS.

That influence is playing a major role driving our government's massive failure to even attempt to reduce gun violence. Politicians who continue to accept campaign contributions from the NRA and gun industry PACs implicitly support an all-types-of-guns-everywhere-for-everyone agenda, which history shows us points in only one direction: More gun violence.

In the U.S. Congress alone, more than half of incumbents have gotten money and organizational help from the NRA, many with financial relationships with the NRA that date back years. Heading into the 2018 midterms, gun rights groups, including the NRA, are already far outspending gun safety groups by 40 to 1. [2] As of February, they had made nearly $600,000 in direct contributions and independent expenditures on behalf of congressional candidates as compared to the $14,000 from gun safety groups. [3]

Even as our children are dying, Congress hasn't yet passed complete background checks for all gun purchases. [4] We still allow the open and relatively easy sale of military-style assault weapons with high capacity magazines, like the AR-15 that was used in the Florida mass shooting and many other massacres.[5] Bump stocks that make a gun into an automatic weapon remain widely available. [6] These are all big problems. By accepting NRA money, politicians are nothing less than complicit in the more than 100,000 shooting deaths and injuries Americans suffer each and every year.[7]

We are sick and tired of fearing for the safety of our children. We're sick and tired of elected leaders influenced by the NRA, who do nothing to stem the tide of gun violence in our homes, in our schools, in our streets and in our communities. It’s long past time to draw a bright line in the sand and find out who stands with us, and who stands against us.

Here's the plan: By taking the #NoNRAMoney pledge, elected leaders prove they prioritize the interests of children and families and not the gun lobby. Once they take the pledge, their names will be added to the public list at NoNRAMoney.org so moms, dads and everyone who cares about the safety of our children know exactly where they stand.

[1] "The Santa Fe High School Shooting in Texas Was the 22nd School Shooting This Year," Time.com, May 18, 2018.

[2][3] "Why the NRA is so powerful on Capitol Hill, by the numbers," CNN.com, Feb. 23, 2018.

[4] "Experts and the public agree on how to stop gun violence. Politicians don't," The Washington Post, Oct. 2, 2017.

[5] "In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun," The New York Times, Feb. 15, 2018.

[6] "After Las Vegas massacre, Congress has failed to act on 'bump stocks.' But states and cities are taking the lead," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 12, 2018.

[7] "Do 100,000 people get shot every year in U.S.? Facebook post says yes," Politifact, Jul. 23, 2012.