The Care2 Petitions Team & The Huffington Post & CREDO Action – 2017-10-02 22:35:36
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/575/262/613/
ACTION ALERT: Military Assault Weapons
Do Not Belong on Our Streets!
The Care2 Petitions Team
Marina Fang / The Huffington Post
Automatic weapons shoot without stopping for 10 minutes at a time before reloading.
Machine guns are designed to kill a lot of people really quickly.
That is their sole purpose.
Which is why they do not belong on our streets.
(October 2, 2017) — They were watching a movie in Aurora. They were learning to read in Newtown. They were celebrating in San Bernardino. They were dancing in Orlando. They were playing baseball in Alexandria. And they were listening to music in Las Vegas.
Then they were gunned down.
On the night of October 1st, a man unleashed a hailstorm of bullets on thousands of concert-goers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. At least 50 people were killed and over 400 injured. It is the worst mass shooting in American history.
When police were finally able to enter the shooter’s Mandalay Bay hotel room, they discovered a stockpile of 10 rifles — many of which were reported to be automatic military-style assault weapons.
In the United States, it is perfectly legal to own a fully automatic weapon, including machine guns used by the military. While there are federal restrictions that limit the purchase of new military-style assault weapons, people who bought machine guns prior to 1986 just have to pay a fee and register their weapon.
According to a 2006 report, there are over 390,000 automatic military-style assault weapons registered to private owners in the United States. That means on our streets right now there is one machine gun for every thousand people living in the US . . . that we know of.
The attacker’s automatic weapons allowed him to shoot without stopping for 10 minutes at a time before reloading. Machine guns are designed to kill a lot of people really quickly. That is their sole purpose. Which is why they do not belong on our streets.
How many more people have to get hurt? And how many more have to die before our country recognizes the need for gun control?
Gun Stocks Climb After Las Vegas Shooting
Heightened fear after mass shootings
often leads to more gun sales
Jenna Amatulli / The Huffington Post
(October 2, 2017) — As the number of people killed or injured in Sunday night’s shooting in Las Vegas continues to climb, so does the share price for gunmakers.
On Monday, just after the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, gunmakers saw a boom in their stock prices:American Outdoor Brands Corp. (previously Smith & Wesson), Sturm, Ruger & Co., and Vista Outdoors climbed by 2.3 percent, 3.7 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, in morning trade, according to MarketWatch.
Trista Kelley @trista_kelley
Trista Kelley
Gun maker stocks soaring in US premarket – American Outdoor Brands up 5%, Sturm Ruger & Co. up 4% #mandalaybay
4:45 AM – Oct 2, 2017
Gun shares often rise immediately after a mass shooting. In fact, American Outdoor Brands has repeatedly told investors that “speculation surrounding increased gun control at the federal, state, and local level and heightened fears of terrorism and crime” affects demand.
Gunmakers made millions after the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; San Bernardino, California; and Orlando, Florida. The motive is fairly clear: When people get scared, they look for and buy things (e.g., guns) to protect themselves. One study in California found that handgun sales after a mass tragedy, at least in one case, spiked even more among people who lived close to the event.
Overall, since the election, gun sales have actually been on the decline. American Outdoor’s stock had fallen 46 percent since the election (as of Friday) while Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s stock fell 20 percent and Vista Outdoor’s stock dropped 40 percent.
Hillary Clinton On Las Vegas Shooting:
‘We Must Stand Up To The NRA’
“Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer,”
which the gun lobby “wants to make easier to get.”
Jenna Amatulli / The Huffington Post
(October 2, 2017) — Hillary Clinton on Monday expressed her grief over the lives lost in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history and tweeted a call to fight efforts by the National Rifle Association to loosen the nation’s gun laws.
At least 50 people were killed and over 400 have been sent to nearby hospitals after a gunman opened fire during the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas late Sunday night.
The former secretary of state and unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidate sent out several tweets about the “cold-blooded massacre,” and told followers that it was time for action, saying that “our grief isn’t enough.”
“The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots. Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get,” she said.
Clinton referred to the push by the NRAssociation and Republican allies in the House for a bill that would make it easier to purchase silencers. Currently, there’s a waiting period for buying silencers that can be as much as nine months or more. Also, buyers must submit fingerprints when purchasing silencers.
“We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again,” Clinton said.
Hillary Clinton
Las Vegas, we are grieving with you—the victims, those who lost loved ones, the responders, & all affected by this cold-blooded massacre.
7:02 AM – Oct 2, 2017
Hillary Clinton
The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots. Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get.
7:03 AM – Oct 2, 2017
Hillary Clinton
Our grief isn’t enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again.
7:04 AM – Oct 2, 2017
Many eyewitnesses to the Las Vegas shooting recounted the horrifying sounds of gunfire that caused them to drop to the ground or flee. As Clinton noted, the death toll could have been higher had the gunman been using a silencer.
President Donald Trump, in his initial reaction to the shooting, sent out one tweet offering his sympathy for victims. Late Monday morning, speaking from the White House, Trump condemned the attack as “as act of pure evil,” praised first responders at the scene, called for national unity and reiterated his condolences for the shooting victims and their relatives But he made no call for any sort of legislative response.
Gabby Giffords To Congress:
‘The Nation’s Counting On You’ To Act On Gun Violence
Marina Fang / The Huffington Post
WASHINGTON (October 2, 2017) — As they have done time and again following mass shootings, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, on Monday implored Congress to take legislative action in response to Sunday night’s Las Vegas massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history.
“The nation’s counting on you,” Giffords, who was gravely wounded during a 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
In the years since she was gunned down, Giffords and Kelly have become leading advocates for gun control reforms.
“For years, Gabby and I have been working to get the people in this building to summon the courage to take meaningful action that make our communities safer places to live,” Kelly said, pointing at the US Capitol. “But despite the tragedies in places like Aurora, Newtown and Orlando, despite daily shootings in communities across America, despite senseless, deadly gun-related domestic violence, despite an epidemic of preventable suicides, despite the problem of toddlers shooting toddlers and their parents, the response from Congress has been to do nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Calling the Las Vegas shooting “domestic terrorism,” Kelly assailed members of Congress and President Donald Trump for offering “thoughts and prayers” while failing to take legislative action that might prevent future mass shootings.
“What we’re hearing today at the Capitol and the White House are thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers are important. We send our thoughts and prayers too. But they are not enough,” Kelly said. “Your thoughts and prayers aren’t going to stop the next shooting. Only action and leadership will do that.”
“We need a president who recognizes that we have a gun violence problem and will work towards solutions,” Kelly said of Trump, who offered his condolences to shooting victims in a short statement from the White House, but made no mention of guns. “Americans need more than our president’s prayers. We need his plans.”
Kelly also responded to criticism that gun control advocates politicize mass shootings.
“If not now, when?” Kelly asked, rejecting pro-gun claims that it’s insensitive to talk about gun control after a mass shooting. “You know, when you are not going to talk about it on a day like this, how many times can we say that over and over again, ‘Now is not the time?’ Well, today is the time.”
Emergency Petition:
Thoughts and prayers are not enough.
We need gun control now.
Murshed Zaheed / CREDO Action from Working Assets
PETITION — Tell Republicans in Congress:
“It is time to put your constituents before the National Rifle Association. Reject currently pending legislation that would gut regulations on gun silencers and armor piercing bullets, block the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, and take immediate action to ban weapons of war, including assault weapons and large capacity magazines, which have no place in the hands of private citizens.”
ACTION: Add your name
(October 2, 2017) — Last night in Las Vegas, a lone gunmen rained gunfire down on a country music concert, killing more than 50 people and sending more than 400 to the hospital. It was the deadliest mass shooting in US history. (1)
Republicans in Congress — who have fought for years to block any legislation that would protect Americans from gun violence — were quick to offer their “thoughts and prayers” in response. But thoughts and prayers are not enough to keep weapons of war out of dangerous hands and begin to address our country’s horrific gun violence epidemic.
It is time for Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in standing up to the National Rifle Association and pass commonsense gun control laws that will save American lives.
Last night’s shooting is far from an isolated incident. According to Newsweek’s John Haltiwanger, there have now been “273 mass shootings and over 11,000 deaths from gun violence in America” in 2017 alone. (2)
But instead of working to protect Americans from the gun violence epidemic, Republicans in Congress are planning to vote as soon as this week on two bills that would make Americans even more vulnerable to gun violence:
* The SHARE Act (H.R. 3668), which would repeal restrictions on gun silencers and make it harder to detect the source of gunfire during mass shootings. (3)
* The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38), which would undermine state efforts to protect residents from gun violence by forcing states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by any other state, no matter how lax the state’s permitting standards are. (4)
We must forcefully demand that Congress reject both of these dangerous pieces of legislation and take immediate action to ban weapons of war, including assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Please add your name to our emergency petition now.
Stephen Paddock, the suspect in the Las Vegas shooting, reportedly had at least 10 rifles in the hotel room he used as a sniper perch.6 There’s simply no good reason for a private citizen to have access to that many weapons of war, but it should not come as a surprise.
Nevada has some of the weakest gun control laws in the United States. There are no limits on the number of guns an individual can own, and assault weapons are legal in the state as long as they are registered. (5) The combination of weak state and federal gun laws made last night’s horrific attack possible.
There’s one reason why Congress consistently fails to take real action on gun violence: the National Rifle Association. The NRA has a chokehold on Congress that keeps most bills about gun control from even coming to the floor for a vote. Politicians beholden to — or afraid of — the NRA are willing to turn their backs on their constituents when it comes time to implement reasonable limits and controls on guns.
But you can count on them for a “heartbroken” tweet about their “thoughts and prayers” when a tragic shooting makes the national news.
Finally breaking the NRA’s chokehold on Congress will require massive grassroots pressure on our elected officials, demanding that they deliver more than thoughts and prayers in the face of our epidemic of gun violence.
ACTION: Tell Republicans in Congress: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need gun control now.
Click here to sign the petition.
Murshed Zaheed is the Political Director for CREDO Action from Working Assets.
Footnotes
1. The Associated Press, “Trump says he’ll visit Las Vegas on Wednesday,” Oct. 2, 2017
2. John Haltiwanger, “Tweet,” Oct. 2, 2017
3. Peter Ambler, “Gun silencers make it easier to commit crimes quietly,” Chicago Tribune, Sep. 29, 2017.
4. Michele Gorman, “Guns in America: What is national concealed carry reciprocity?” Newsweek, March 3, 2017.
5. Callum Paton, “Las Vegas gun laws: Open carry, concealed weapon, machine guns all legal in Nevada,” Newsweek, Oct. 2, 2017
6. Holly Yan, Susannah Cullinane and Philip Victor, “50+ killed in Las Vegas Strip massacre; gunman had 10 rifles, police say,” CNN, Oct. 2, 2017
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