“Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We must act. Mitch McConnell – please call the Senate back to work tomorrow and let us vote on gun-safety laws.” Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) August 4, 2019
Meanwhile, after notification of the massacre in El Paso, our president continued on with his busy day of golfing and crashing weddings at his club. He has, in the last few hours, finally gotten down to business with his inimitable mix of laziness, lies and misdirection…
- He confused Dayton, Ohio with Toledo.
- He blamed the internet and the press for the explosion of white radicalization, not his own demonizing of migrants and racial minorities.
- He’s focusing on mental illness and away from gun restrictions – “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger — not the gun.” Rest assured the GOP won’t be handing out additional monies to treat mental illness. Plus, Trump made it easier for people with mental health issues to obtain guns.
- He floated connecting background check reform with stronger immigration legislation, i.e. – rewarding the people who kill immigrants with legislation against immigrants.
So, no help there, as usual. It’s up to us to get our legislators moving…
Action #1 – Call your senators and ask them to return to Washington D.C. and finish the job of passing background check bills.
Minimal Script for Senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to Sen. [___] to return to D.C. and press for the passage of background check bills S.42 and HR 1112.
Action #2 – Call your legislators and ask them, while they’re at it, to push through assault weapon and large capacity ammo bans.
Minimal Script for Representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to Rep. [___] to return to D.C. and press for the passage of assault weapon and large capacity ammunition feeding device bans HR 1296 and HR 1186
Minimal Script for Senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to Sen. [___] to return to D.C. and press for the passage of assault weapon and large capacity ammunition feeding device bans S.66 and S.447.
Action #3 – There are no GOP cosponsors for any of these common-sense gun safety bills. If your legislator is Republican, make this call…
Minimal Script for GOP legislators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Sen./Rep [___] to return and JOIN in with the Democrats and pass bills that will help keep me, my family, my neighbors safer. Why hasn’t he/she signed on to any of these common-sense bills yet?
(Rep. – HR 1296 & HR 1186 – assault weapons and large capacity ammo bans)
(Sen. – S.42 & HR 1112 – background checks and S.66 & S.447 – assault weapons and large capacity ammo bans)
Bonus question: How much did he/she receive in donations from the NRA?
Contact
Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email,DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
and Senator Harris: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884
Who is my representative/senator?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com
Bill information
H.R. 8/S.42 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019
In February this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. This bill passed 240-190, with eight Republicans joining almost all Democrats. It would stop those states that still permit the loophole of allowing the transfer of firearms without a background check at gun shows or between individuals (Congressional Research Report here.) The Senate has not taken any action on their version – S.42.
Senator-check for S.42 here. (Both Senators Feinstein and Harris have signed as cosponsors. There are NO GOP cosponsors.)
H.R. 1112 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act
HR 1112, which passed in February 2019 by a vote of 240-190, would extend to at least 10 days the amount of time firearms dealers must wait for a response from the background check system before the sale can proceed. Currently, they can make the sale if they haven’t received a response in three days. The three-day loophole allowed the shooter who killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, to obtain his weapon. The Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and an attack at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas also could have been prevented with a stronger background check system, experts say. Adding 7 extra days to protect years of people’s lives makes the NRA sad. (Congressional Research Report here.) The Senate has taken no action on the bill since it passed.
S.66 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2019
Our Senator Feinstein has once again proposed an assault weapons ban – S.66. – “Assault Weapons Ban of 2019”. She put out this statement after this weekend’s shootings: “During the decade the federal assault weapons ban was in effect – 1994 to 2004 – gun massacres dropped by 37 percent compared to the previous decade, …But the decade after the ban expired saw an enormous 183 percent increase in massacres. It’s time to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to reduce the supply and ban new purchases. In just one week, 34 people lost their lives in three mass shootings. Now is the time for decisive action, now is the time to save lives.”
Senator-check for S.66 here. (Both Senators Feinstein and Harris have signed as cosponsors. There are NO GOP cosponsors.)
HR 1296 – Assault Weapons Ban of 2019
HR 1296 – “Assault Weapons Ban of 2019“. – This bill makes it a crime for private citizens to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). More here.
Current cosponsors here. (Both Reps. Brownley and Carbajal have signed on. There are NO GOP cosponsors.)
HR 1186/S.447 – Keep America Safe Act.
HR 1186/S.447– “Keep America Safe Act.” – These identical bills establish a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device to private citizens. (LCAFD). More here.
Current House cosponsors here. (Rep. Brownley has sign on, Carbajal hasn’t.)
Current Senate cosponsors here. (Both Senators Feinstein and Harris have signed as cosponsors.) There are NO GOP cosponsors for either bill
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 