More than 1,200 Survivors of Gun Violence Sign Letter Urging Members of Senate to Call on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Hold Votes on Gun Safety Legislation

1,217 Survivors of Gun Violence from All 50 States, Plus Washington, D.C., Sign Letter Urging Senate to Pass Legislation to Require Background Checks on All Gun Sales and a Strong Red Flag Law

NEW YORK – Today, members of the Everytown Survivor Network, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released a letter urging members of the Senate to call on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold votes on gun safety legislation. The letter can be found here.

Signed by 1,217 survivors of gun violence from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., the letter was delivered in-person today to Senator McConnell’s Louisville office by a group of Kentucky-based gun violence survivors. 

The letter underscores the urgency of the Senate acting to keep our communities safe by passing legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag, or Extreme Risk Protection Order, bill. 

“Dear Members of the Senate, 

We are the 58 percent of Americans who have said they or someone they care for have experienced gun violence in their lifetime. We deserve to live in a country where we are all free from the fear of being shot. Instead, every day we receive news of another shooting that has ripped families apart and devastated communities like Baltimore, Chicago, Gilroy, Canoga Park, Brooklyn, El Paso, Dayton and many more. 

The media gives the most attention to mass shootings, but the high rate of gun violence in this country is driven by suicides, city gun violence and deadly acts of domestic violence. Such daily violence is equally traumatizing for survivors, even though it doesn’t always make national news. Each day, 100 Americans are shot and killed and hundreds more are wounded, leaving behind a nation of survivors who must cope with the reality that their lives will never be the same.

After every shooting, we hear the condolences, thoughts and prayers shared by our elected officials. We appreciate your words, but what we really want is your action and your vote for common-sense gun safety legislation. 

In this moment, we urge the Senate to act to keep our communities safe by passing legislation to require background checks on all gun sales, and a strong Red Flag, or Extreme Risk Protection Order, bill. The time for politics is over – the time for action is now. 

We ask that you call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold votes on these lifesaving policies before another family must experience the pain we have endured. 

We demand more than your thoughts and prayers for our broken bodies, our broken communities and our broken country. Now is the time to act.”