Gun Safety Update

Yet another mass shooting has devastated an American community -- this time in San Bernardino, California.

We don't just need another moment of silence. We also need a moment of action.

Right before the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, supporters will gather all across the country to participate in Orange Walks to honor all of the lives lost to gun violence in America, and show just how determined we are to end it.

There's an event in Audubon -- can you join us?
What: Camden County Wear Orange Walk
When: Saturday, December 12, 7:00 PM
Where: Outside the Audubon Municipal Building, 606 W Nicholson Road, Audubon, NJ
RSVP NOW

Walk to honor the lives of those lost to gun violence.
Orange is the color hunters wear to stay safe and visible in the woods. It represents the value of human life, and it's become a powerful symbol of the gun violence prevention movement.
At Orange Walks across the country, supporters like you will gather with family and friends to bundle up in as much orange as they own and walk in their town squares, schools, or houses of worship. We hope you'll be one of them.

Join us in Audubon and walk in honor of the 88 Americans killed and hundreds more injured every day from gun violence.

There's an Orange Walk happening in your community, and we hope we'll see you there.
Thanks for joining us,

Get your Wear Orange merchandise from the Everytown Store
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Why does the NRA have so much power? It's not just because of the money they spend on elections, though that's significant. As Matt Yglesias explains at Vox, it's also because they have a big group of active members who engage in politics:
"What the NRA has that relatively few other DC interest groups have is a genuine mass membership. The NRA's 5 million members give it ground troops who mobilize to call congressional offices, volunteer in campaigns, and share political views with friends and neighbors. The mere fact that a person would bother to have voluntarily joined a political advocacy organization sends a powerful signal to politicians that he or she is an engaged member of the electorate who will pay attention to political events and show up on Election Day."
That is the same model DFA uses -- except we use it to make our country better and safer. Many of the 1 million DFA members already stepped up once this year to defeat the NRA, winning key state legislative races in Virginia against NRA-backed candidates.

As Jim Dean makes clear in a very important message to DFA members below, we have an obligation to our country to continue building that momentum in the fight to pass new gun laws -- and we need your help. If you agree with what he wrote, please chip in $3 or more to help DFA go on offense against the NRA.


This is a longer email than we usually share with Democracy for America members -- but I hope you can take just a few minutes to read it. It's critically important, especially at this pivotal moment in the aftermath of the horrific news out of both San Bernardino and Colorado Springs.

We know that the last week has been extremely challenging for our country and especially for progressives organizing and advocating for common-sense gun control reforms. That's why we want you to know that, driven by the relentless commitment of members like you, DFA is not backing down. We're not only in this for the long haul -- we're going on offense at this critical moment in our country's history.

As the news gets more and more distressing, everything feels like a blur right now -- but let's take a step back and look at where things stand and where we go from here.

This week, after terror attacks in Paris, Colorado and California, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid once again fought hard to bring meaningful gun legislation to the floor of Congress. Senator Reid forced votes on three amendments that would provide stronger laws to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists -- including closing the "terror gap" that allows people on the terror watch list to buy guns -- but Republicans sided with the NRA and rejected them all. Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan refused to even have a debate in the House.

I'm not surprised that Republicans aided and abetted the terrorists who kill Americans and the merchants of death at the NRA. But, as DFA's Chair, I'm determined to do something about it.

Despite what some may think, we are slowly but surely turning the tide in the national effort to stop the NRA and finally do something about the epidemic of mass shootings that is making our country so unsafe. Exhibit A: As demonstrated by their near-unanimous votes against the NRA on Thursday, Senate Democrats are not afraid to take on the gun lobby -- even in red and purple states.

Why? Because we're starting to win important elections in state and federal races in which gun violence is a central issue. With the 2016 elections looming, now is the time to crank up the pressure and show the NRA that we're coming for them.

Do you support the short-term work DFA is doing to aggressively take on the NRA in this moment -- and the long-term work we're doing to defeat them in elections across the country in 2016 and beyond? Then we need you, especially right now, to help DFA go on offense against the NRA. Please click here to chip in $3 or more now.

On Friday, David Roberts wrote a critically important piece on Vox titled "Why Mass Shootings Don't Convince Gun Owners to Support Gun Control" in which he made the following argument that is critical to DFA's theory of change on gun violence:

"If there are ever to be gun laws passed in the US, any kind of policy response to the rising tide of mass shootings, it will be because the people who want it amass the political power to overwhelm the power of the gun lobby. It will be because they organize and deploy more intensity, money, and votes than their opponents..."

At DFA, we're amassing that power daily, election by election. Just last month, DFA joined forces with our allies, including Everytown for Gun Safety and People for the American Way, to defeat NRA-backed candidates in state elections in Virginia -- a key battleground over gun laws.

In 2016, we're going to build on that momentum to take back the U.S. Senate and flip state legislatures from purple to blue. That will help us break the NRA's grip, finally put strong, effective gun laws in place, and prevent terrorist attacks fueled by the exploitation of our weak gun laws.

Easy access to guns -- that's the common thread among all of the mass shootings we've seen in America, whether they happened at a church, a school, an office, or a movie theater. And, whether it's at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado or in San Bernardino, each of these mass shooters is a terrorist, regardless of their background.

Just this morning, for the first time since 1920, the New York Times published a front-page editorial titled "End the Gun Epidemic in America." And the Times editorial board said what DFA has been saying consistently in the aftermath of recent mass shootings: "Let’s be clear: These spree killings are all, in their own ways, acts of terrorism."

If we want to stop terror attacks of all kinds, we have to stop the NRA, whose extremist ideology is enabling terrorists to get their hands on guns and kill people. That's where DFA members like you come in.

We need your help to go on offense against the NRA. Please chip in $3 or more to help DFA defeat Republicans who side with the NRA and elect progressive champions across the country in 2016 -- who will then pass meaningful gun laws in 2017.

This is both a short-term and long-term fight -- and, together, we will win it. Thank you for standing with us and standing up against the NRA and their Republican allies.


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ADD YOUR NAME: Stand with President Obama against gun violence >>

We don’t know all the facts yet about last week’s mass shooting -- the worst since Sandy Hook. But what happened is something that’s become far too commonplace in America.

President Obama isn’t accepting this new norm and neither are we. Stand with the President against the Republican Congress and the NRA and demand action on gun violence:
President Obama is angry. So are we. And you should be, too.

In 2015, there have been more than 350 mass shootings in the United States. It’s gut wrenching to think about, but we can’t accept that there’s nothing to be done about it.

Each time this happens, I am going to say 
we can actually do something about it. - Barack Obama
Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama has dealt with a seemingly endless string of mass gun tragedies.
And while it’s clear to any reasonable citizen that we need to take action to curb this violence, Congressional action has been nearly impossible. That’s because Republicans and the NRA have stood staunchly against any change to the status quo -- no matter how reasonable.

Universal background checks? NO. Close the gun show loophole? NO. Ban high-capacity magazines? NO. Stop those on the terrorist watch list from legally buying guns? NO.

But through all their intransigence, President Obama has refused to back down. He continues to call them out publicly and demand action, because the stakes are too high. We simply can’t give up.

Add your name to show you’re still standing with President Obama. Demand action against gun violence:


http://go.boldpac.com/Stand-With-Obama

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Rubio: Don’t Keep People On No-Fly List From Buying Guns
Marco Rubio said Sunday that people on the U.S. government’s No-Fly list should still be able to purchase guns, because the list is full of “everyday Americans” who are on the list by accident.

“The majority of the people on the No-Fly list are often times people that just basically have the same name as somebody else, who doesn’t belong on the No-Fly list,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union. “Former Senator Ted Kennedy once said he was on a no-fly list. There are journalists on the No-Fly list.”

Rubio’s comments were in response to host Jake Tapper referencing a statement by President Obama, who said Saturday that he thought it was “insane” that people who aren’t allowed to board commercial airplanes can purchase guns. Obama is also set to address the nation in the wake of attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, on Sunday night.

“Right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane,” Obama said Saturday. “If you’re too dangerous to board a plane, you’re too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun. And so I’m calling on Congress to close this loophole, now.”
Rubio, however, doesn’t agree with the president’s sentiment.

“These are everyday Americans that have nothing to do with terrorism, they wind up on the No-Fly list, there’s no due process or any way to get your name removed from it in a timely fashion, and now they’re having their Second Amendment rights being impeded upon,” he said.

And, when Tapper said he didn’t think it was accurate that a majority of people on the No-Fly list were there by mistake, Rubio said he thought it was a “very significant number.” That’s why, he said, he joined colleagues in the Senate in blocking a bill last week that would have prevented people on the Justice Department’s Terrorist Watch List from buying guns. Every Senate Republican except Sen. Mark Kirk (IL) voted against the bill.

Rubio’s fellow Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, however, disagrees with Senate Republicans.

“Well, on the No-Fly list, we probably could keep them from getting guns and ought to ban them,” Kasich told Tapper on Sunday.

But he also noted that the U.S. needed to be careful not to tip off people on watch lists.

“We want to make sure that we can exploit all the information that we possibly can get. So if all of a sudden you tell everybody who’s on the watch list that you can’t do this or that, then guess what happens?” he said. “Then we lose our ability to track, we lose our ability to gather information, so I think we have to be careful.”
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A Note From Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly:

December 11, 2015
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, and Members of the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives:
 
As founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions and on behalf of our over 800,000 supporters, we urge you to end the ban on research into gun violence. Annual spending bills passed by Congress have included a “rider” that prevents federal research into gun violence – including its causes and costs to our country. Appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2016 should do away with this damaging policy.
 
Gun violence is a full-blown public health crisis. Approximately 30,000 Americans die from firearms-related deaths each year. But since 1996, federal research into the causes and prevention of gun violence has effectively been frozen. This misguided limitation on research into gun violence by the CDC and National Institutes of Health has left us in the dark about its causes and full toll, and what can be done to prevent gun violence while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners.
 
The only way to begin to address a problem is to understand it. We must understand the full scope of the problem of gun violence in our country: its causes, its costs, and how we can prevent it. At a time when our nation is reeling from mass shootings, gun homicides and gun suicides, it is critical to expand, not restrict, gun violence prevention research.
 
Thank you for your commitment to improving public safety and for your consideration of this request. 
 
Sincerely,
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly
Co-Founders, Americans for Responsible Solutions

Last Friday, we had the opportunity to meet personally with President Obama in the Oval Office. The meeting was on the schedule before the tragic mass shooting in San Bernardino, but the timing made the conversation even more urgent. 

We talked at length about the issues you've told us are important: closing loopholes in our laws that will keep suspected terrorists, criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, stalkers, and domestic abusers from buying guns. You may have heard some of that in the president's speech yesterday evening.

We asked him to take action.

In short, we made sure your voice was heard in the meeting.

President Obama has been a tremendous leader on the issue of gun violence prevention, but he cannot do it alone. He needs all of us.

Contribute $23.86 (the average donation this week) to Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC to ensure we have the resources to elect leaders willing to stand up to the gun lobby.

Americans are united on this issue. They want representatives who support commonsense solutions that will make our communities safer. It's up to us to elect a president and Congress who agree.

Make a $23.86 contribution to Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC today.

There is nothing we cannot accomplish when we stand together.

All of our best,

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly 

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There’s still a lot we don’t know about the tragic shooting in San Bernardino. But one thing is obvious: We’ve got a problem.

So far in 2015, there have been more mass shootings than days. In fact, the BBC opened yesterday’s broadcast, saying, “Just another day in the United States of America… .” We’re becoming defined by our inability to act.

And yet, just Thursday, in the wake of this tragedy, Congress caved to the NRA again and refused to act.

But we are not bystanders. We can do better. In the past 72 hours, I’ve heard from thousands of people who want to know: In the face of Congressional inaction, what can we do?

Add your name to support the historic Safety for All ballot measure in California and set a new, national standard in the fight against gun violence.
In California, we can pass the Safety for All Act -- a historic ballot initiative that would require things like background checks on ammunition purchases and a ban on the possession of large capacity magazines (the type of magazines that contain 20, 30, 40 bullets allowing the shooter to inflict maximum damage without having reload).(1)

This is important for all Americans, not just Californians. Safety for All would set the gold standard for meaningful reforms to stop gun violence, creating a model that could be applied everywhere.

So what can you do? Join our movement. Commit to this fight. We have the power to make history here, but we need a groundswell of grassroots support. We need you.

Click here to add your name to support Safety for All and take on gun violence. We cannot let this become our status quo.

The violence will not end until we collectively decide we're going to do something about it. Some of us have been criticized for saying thoughts and prayers are not enough. Well, they’re not. Not unless they are followed by action.

We need to channel our frustration and hurt into relentless organization. And since politicians are too scared to stand up to the NRA, we’ll go around them, taking our call to action directly to voters. Doing nothing is not an option. We have to do SOMETHING. NOW. 




1. http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/2300?t=6&akid=2349.2119770.93JUNK, http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/2301?t=7&akid=2349.2119770.93JUNK, and http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/2302?t=9&akid=2349.2119770.93JUNK
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Meet Kelly Ayotte: One of a handful of senators who blocked a measure in the U.S. Senate last week to keep suspected terrorists from buying guns -- just hours after the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

With your help, we can make Sen. Ayotte regret this shameful vote since "no one is more vulnerable … who faces reelection in a presidential swing state in 2016." [1]

But to do that, we have to call her out right now -- from New Hampshire and beyond -- for this NRA-backed vote that is directly putting American lives at risk.

Here are two ways you can let Sen. Ayotte know that there will be consequences for her failure to lead:

Tweet at Sen. Ayotte


Post on Sen. Ayotte's Facebook Page


Sen. Ayotte's votes are especially egregious in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. In addition to voting NO on closing the "terror gap," she also voted to let dangerous people continue buying guns from unlicensed sellers they meet online with no background checks and no questions asked.

We need Sen. Ayotte to know that gun lobby pandering doesn't pay off. With your help, we'll keep the pressure on Sen. Ayotte until the very last vote is counted next year.

Tell Sen. Ayotte: Siding with the NRA instead of your constituents and the vast majority of Americans is a losing proposition.

Together, we're going to take this country back -- and that starts by tossing out the politicians who get in the way of passing stronger gun laws.

1. "Kelly Ayotte Should Be Worried About Losing Her Seat Over Gun Control," The New Republic. October 2, 2015.
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Thanks to a loophole in current laws, some people suspected by the FBI of terrorist activity can legally purchase military-style assault weapons -- weapons of war -- anywhere in the United States. And what's more disturbing, in the past 11 years, 90 percent of the people who tried have passed the required background check.

One piece of legislation isn't going to prevent every gun violence tragedy, but closing this loophole is one step that Congress can take today that will go a long way toward making our communities safer.

Add your name to show your support for common-sense gun safety measures, like closing this loophole.

The legislation to close this loophole has existed for years and it continues to have bipartisan support in Congress. But an extreme vocal minority, backed by the gun lobby, has prevented the kind of reform that we need.

Right now, people on the No-Fly List can walk into a store and buy a gun. If a person suspected of terrorism is barred from boarding an airplane, that person should not be allowed to purchase a weapon of war.

Keeping our communities, our families, and our children safe is a priority and a responsibility that we all have to each other. OFA volunteers have been urging members of Congress to do something about gun violence, and closing this loophole is one practical and urgent step they could take.

Add your name to show your support:

https://my.barackobama.com/Close-No-Fly-Loophole
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Tell the Cowards in Congress: Prevent Gun Violence and Mass Shootings.

Target: U.S. House Majority Leader Leader Kevin McCarthy
Goal: End the ban on researching gun violence causes and prevention methods in the U.S.
Health organizations are prohibited from conducting research on gun violence to identify causes and come up with prevention methods in the United States, where we’ve had more mass shootings this year than we’ve had days. Two thousand doctors from nine U.S. health and safety organizations recently signed and delivered a letter to Congress to urge them to lift this ban and allow organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help end the gun violence epidemic.
This ban was put into place for the CDC in 1996 thanks to immense pressure from the gun lobby. It’s nothing but a political ploy to prevent any bad press that might reduce gun sales or increase support for gun control legislation, and it’s cost countless lives. Similar research into traffic safety has prevented 360,000 deaths since 1996.
In a country where nearly 90 people die every day from gun violence, it’s unconscionable to prohibit any research into this incredibly deadly problem. The gun lobby says that guns don’t kill people–people kill people. Yet they won’t even let experts conduct research into the reasons why people kill people with guns. Sign our petition to demand this ban be immediately lifted so that maybe, someday, the people of the U.S. won’t have to live in fear of being suddenly gunned down.
Dear House Majority Leader McCarthy,
Since 1996, the CDC has been banned from conducting any research on gun violence. That was extended to the NIH in 2011. These bans were pushed by the gun lobby so that there would be no bad press affecting the precious sale of guns or creating extra support for gun control laws.
This year, there have been more mass shootings than there have been days, and nearly 90 people die every day as a direct result of gun violence. Even if people kill people, not guns, this is clearly a problem. Research by health and safety organizations could help us to figure out what causes people to kill others with guns rather than using them responsibly. Banning this research is a political ploy that’s left us at the mercy of those people with guns who turn them onto crowds of innocents.
People are dying at astronomical rates from an entirely preventable problem. Putting profits and power before lives is absolutely, indisputably wrong. If you let the gun lobby continue to control your party at the expense of the safety and lives of your citizens, you’re a coward at best. We demand that you immediately act to get this ban on gun violence research lifted.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Bart Everson
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I'll admit that sometimes -- especially in light of the senseless violence we see too often -- our mission to end gun violence in America can seem like an impossible dream.

But this movement is defined by its resolve, and what you've proven is that even in the darkest of times, we won't lose sight of our shared vision: We CAN end gun violence.

So today, I'm asking you to commit to this urgent mission by lending your voice to our "We Can End Gun Violence" video -- an ever-expanding statement of hope.

Check out the inspiring footage that's been submitted so far -- and then take a minute to add your own contribution using our super simple video tool.
We Can End Gun Violence Video

ADD YOUR VOICE

You'll be in good company. Gun violence survivors, moms, and icons from President Obama to Julianne Moore and Jennifer Aniston are just a few of those who have already contributed short videos to this uplifting project.

And they're all saying the same thing: That we don't need to accept an America plagued by gun violence, and that it won't change unless all of us speak up.

This year alone, you've helped beat the gun lobby in 33 states. You've made gun violence a key topic in the presidential debate. You've made orange our banner color. And now, you can be the face and voice of this movement.

Join me in raising your voice to say, "We Can End Gun Violence," and be part of this groundbreaking video project.


It only takes 30 seconds (I've timed it!) to record on your smartphone or webcam. So grab a friend. Or give your kid a big hug. Or just smile into the camera and have fun.
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Chris Christie Used to Be Against Terrorist Suspects Getting Guns. Now he may be more worried about the NRA.
Days after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people, and one day after President Barack Obama called for more gun safety measures in a speech addressing the attack, GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie bolstered his support of gun rights. As news surfaced that the assault weapons used in San Bernardino were purchased legally due to a loophole in California's assault weapons ban, Christie said during a radio interview that Obama's call for limits on assault weapons was "absurd."

This was one of the New Jersey governor's many recent efforts to showcase his pro-guns stance. Last month, he conditionally vetoed a bill that would have made it harder for domestic abusers to own guns. He also recently vetoed a bill that would have required law enforcement to be notified when a person who had been institutionalized for mental illness seeks to expunge his mental health record when applying for a gun permit. And in the past year, he pardoned five people in New Jersey who were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

But for most of his two decades in politics, Christie has been a supporter of gun safety measures. In 1993, during his failed campaign for state Senate, he cited Republican efforts to repeal New Jersey's assault weapon ban as his inspiration for entering politics. He repeated his support of the assault weapons ban in 1995 when running for the state Assembly. In his 2009 gubernatorial campaign, Christie voiced his opposition to a federal bill that would have made it easier for permit holders to carry firearms across state lines. As governor, he signed nearly a dozen pieces of legislation restricting guns in 2013, including one that barred individuals on the federal terror watch list from obtaining a permit to buying a gun in New Jersey. His consistent support for gun control has earned him a C, the lowest rating from the National Rifle Association among the top GOP presidential candidates. In 2014, New Jersey was voted one of the worst states for gun owners by Guns & Ammo magazine.

Yet late last month on CNN, Christie refused to express support a proposed bill in Congress that seeks to close this same terror watch list loophole nationwide, saying that he believes this sort of rule-making should be left to states.

When he's been questioned about his newfound support of gun rights, Christie has insisted it's an authentic evolution. "I have grown up a bit and changed my view and been educated on it," Christie said on Face the Nation last Sunday, when asked about his previous support for an assault weapons ban. Christie said his views began to change when he became a prosecutor and saw that firearms are necessary for law enforcement to manage crime.

Though the NRA has yet to revise its rating for the candidate, Christie has won critical support in New Hampshire—a key primary state and also a GOP electorate that tends to oppose stricter gun control. Last month, Christie won the endorsement of the state's largest newspaper, the New Hampshire Union Leader. He's since been endorsed by the state's House and Senate majority leaders, and several other political figures.

Christie's revamped position on guns seems to have convinced many of New Hampshire's leaders that he could win a pro-gun constituency. But the most fervently pro-gun groups in the state aren't sold. On Wednesday, the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, one of two major gun rights groups in the state, sent an email blast to its members warning them to be wary of Christie's purported Second Amendment bona fides.

"Don't be fooled!" writes NHFC in its message, outlining Christie's pro-gun-control history. "The truth is Chris Christie has been an anti-gun activist for his entire political career…Being pro-gun is doing the right thing when no one is looking."
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6 Signs the NRA Is Losing Its Stranglehold on Gun Policy. Congress isn't taking action after the latest mass shootings. But others are.
For gun control advocates, this year's doom has been compounded by an ample dose of gloom. Even after a series of high-profile mass shootings and a reported death toll from gun violence topping 12,000 last year, Congress remains deadlocked and unlikely to pass any laws aimed at reducing gun deaths.

But beneath the morass of bad news are glimpses of progress. In schools, communities, states, and even in the federal government, people are taking action to curb the gun violence epidemic. Here are six areas in which gun control is actually advancing in America.

1. The Supreme Court opted not to expand Second Amendment protections.
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that could have cemented an even wider interpretation of the Second Amendment into national law. The decision came less than a week after shooters in San Bernardino, California, used semi-automatic weapons to slaughter 14 people at an office party in what the FBI is now investigating as an act of terrorism.

In the case, the Illinois branch of the National Rifle Association argued that a Chicago suburb’s ban on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines violated the Second Amendment. Although there was no official ruling, the court's decision to turn down the case effectively affirmed the lower court's decision not to expand Second Amendment protections—thereby opening the door to further local regulation.

In its last two gun cases, in 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court had significantly expanded the reach of the Second Amendment. In 2008, the court overturned a ban on handguns in the District of Columbia; in 2010, it did the same for a handgun ban in Chicago.

Now, by contrast, the court may be indicating that the much-contested right to bear arms should have its limitations.

2. States are taking action.
The court’s decision looks even more significant in light of the fact that state governments are already taking many of the steps that Congress won’t.

In the year following the tragic 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, eight states passed major gun reform laws. The momentum has continued: Voters in Washington state last year resoundingly approved universal background checks for gun purchases, and several states have moved to restrict domestic abusers' access to firearms this year.*

Next November, Nevada residents will also vote on a background-check initiative, which made it onto the state ballot with the support of Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. In California, which already has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the country, a gubernatorial candidate is working to put even tighter legislation on the ballot.

Want to see how your own state ranks on gun control? The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence has created this handy scorecard.

3. Most Americans, including gun owners, support some degree of gun control.
Congress may not be able to come to a productive compromise, but Americans do agree on some key gun control policies. A survey last month found that a striking 83 percent of gun owners, including many NRA members, support requiring all prospective gun buyers to undergo a background check. A Gallup poll released in October—after the shootings at Umpqua Community College in Oregon but before last week's attack in Sen Bernardino—found that 55 percent of Americans favored stricter control of gun sales.

Support for gun control has traditionally peaked following mass shootings, only to subside later. Recent polls suggest that fear of terrorism has edged out fear of guns in the popular psyche—despite the fact that jihadist terrorists have killed just 45 people in the United States since September 11, 2001, compared with the more than 12,000 people killed last year alone by gun violence.

4. More and more people say gun violence should be researched as a public health issue.
Last Wednesday, mere hours before the attack in San Bernardino, 2,000 doctors publicly urged Congress to repeal an amendment that has blocked government research on gun violence for nearly two decades.

The so-called Dickey Amendment was propelled through Congress by Republican legislators in 1996 under pressure from the NRA. Due to the provision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health have been unable to put any federal funds toward gun violence research, leaving attempts to curb gun violence hogtied by a lack of information.

But opposition to the amendment is growing. Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have appealed for a return to federal gun violence research in recent months. Even the amendment's author, former Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.), has publicly called for it to be overturned.

5. Schools across the country are talking to their students about guns.
Tens of thousands of students across the country have signed their names to an anti-gun-violence pledge this year, promising not to bear arms at school and to resolve conflicts by nonviolent means.

The pledge was born in the mid-1990s, when creator Mary Lewis Grow realized that the conversation about gun violence rarely reached the nation's youth. Determined to change that, she founded the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence in 1996. It enjoyed a decade of popularity before fading from public view.

Widespread dismay at the lack of government action following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary rekindled interest in the pledge, Grow told gun news website The Trace. "I think [people] started looking for other ways to address gun violence," she said. Students in at least five states have taken the pledge this year, including 59,000 in Georgia and 21,000 in Louisiana.

The pledge goes as follows: "I will never bring a gun to school. I will never use a gun to settle a personal problem or dispute. I will use my influence with friends to keep them from using guns to settle disputes. My individual choices and actions, when multiplied by those of young people throughout the country, will make a difference. Together, by honoring this pledge, we can reverse the violence and grow up in safety."

6. Gun control is now firmly part of our national debate.
President Barack Obama now calls for gun control legislation after every major shooting. The New York Times last week published a pro-gun-control editorial on its front page—its first page-one editorial since 1920. And while she shied away from the issue eight years ago, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has made curbing gun violence a central plank in her 2016 platform.

America's gun violence crisis has clearly made its way into the highest levels of our national debate. What comes of that debate remains to be seen, but a whopping $229 billion a year—and, more important, thousands of lives—depend on it.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified when the state of Washington voted to instate universal background checks on gun purchases.
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We've heard some good ideas (and some really bad ones) on how to keep our country safe from terrorist attacks like the mass shooting carried out last week in San Bernardino, California.
But there's one bipartisan, common-sense proposal that we should all agree on: if people are too dangerous to fly on an airplane, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun.

CNN is taking questions right now from the public for the Republican presidential debate this Tuesday. We need your help to get candidates on record on this critical issue. Send them a message now.
Send a message
It's a matter of national security -- and if the people on the debate stage want to be taken seriously as candidates for President, they ought to weigh in.

The George W. Bush and Obama Administrations both asked Congress to give the Justice Department the ability to block gun sales to terror suspects. Now we need to hear from the candidates.

Send CNN a message now to make sure their moderators ask this simple question: "Where do you stand on gun sales to terror suspects?"

Closing this "terror gap" is a simple step that would help keep guns away from people who may be planning to attack America. And gun owners overwhelmingly agree, too. A poll by Republican pollster Frank Luntz found that 76 percent of gun owners support this common-sense measure. [1]

Fortunately, at least one GOP candidate gets it. Over the weekend, Ohio Governor John Kasich said it was "common sense to say that if you're on a terrorist watch list, you shouldn’t be able to go out and get a gun." [2]

But there are four U.S. senators running, and all of them just voted to leave this dangerous "terror gap" wide open. They need to explain their votes, and we urgently need to hear where the other candidates stand on this important national security question.

Should terror suspects be allowed to buy guns freely? Send your message to CNN now to make sure we find out where the candidates stand.
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1. "Frank Luntz National Poll of Gun Owners and NRA Members," EverytownResearch.org, October 20, 2012.
2. "Kasich says banning suspected terrorists from buying guns poses intelligence risk," MSNBC.com, December 16, 2015
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Sign the petition: It’s time to stop the NRA.What Republicans can actually do to make us safer
Tell Republicans in Congress:
“It’s time to put your constituents before the NRA. Bring real gun control legislation to the floor of the House and the Senate.”

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After last week’s horrific shootings in San Bernardino, many Republicans in Congress offered their customary “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and their families.

And, as is also customary, they continued to do nothing to actually reduce gun violence. In fact, on Thursday, Senate Republicans voted to block four gun control bills that would actually begin to address the unprecedented wave of shootings that’s gripped our country.

It’s time for Congress to consider a meaningful package of gun control reforms, including an assault weapons ban and universal background checks. But breaking the NRA’s chokehold on Congress will require massive amounts of grassroots pressure demanding a real change.

Tell Republicans in Congress: “Thoughts and prayers” are not enough. We need real gun control. Click here to sign the petition.

Pro-NRA members of Congress respond to tragedies while they’re in the news, but never take action to prevent them from happening again. Instead, they offer up either fleeting sentiments or xenophobic and racist policies, as they did in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

It’s outrageous that Republicans are so eager to fearmonger and race bait on behalf of our “safety” but refuse to do anything to combat the epidemic of gun violence that kills more than 33,000 Americans every year. If Republicans actually want to make us safer, they must do everything they can to pass a comprehensive package of gun control reforms, including a bill to close the NRA-backed terror gap which has allowed more than 2,000 people on the terror watch list to purchase guns since 2004.1

Policies like blocking refugees and discriminating against refugees based on their religion are especially offensive when there is legislation that Congress could pass right now to actually reduce gun violence. The Senate could:
  • Close the terror gap by allowing the Department of Justice to block guns sales to anyone on the terror watch list. Between 2004 and 2014, more than 2,000 people on the list purchased guns in the U.S.
  • Close the loophole that allows people to buy guns without undergoing background checks through private sales, at gun shows and online. An estimated 40% of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals not required to conduct background checks on buyers.2
  • Ban convicted domestic abusers and stalkers from buying guns. Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if that individual has access to a firearm.3
  • Prohibit the manufacture of assault weapons and "large capacity" magazines for civilian use.
In 2014 alone, the gun lobby spent over $30 million on political advertising and lobbying to influence legislators in Congress and state capitals across the country. If Republicans really want to protect Americans, they need to break their blind allegiance to the NRA and pass gun control legislation. But they’ll never act unless we force them. Can you add your voice today?

Tell Republicans in Congress: It’s time to pass real gun control legislation. CREDO Action from Working Assets
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  1. Closing the Terror Gap in Gun Background Checks,” Everytown for Gun Safety, July 21, 2015.
  2. Universal Background Checks & the “Private” Sale Loophole Policy Summary ,” Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, September 10, 2015.
  3. Gabby Giffords, National Domestic Violence Prevention Leaders Applaud New House Legislation to Keep Guns out of the Hands of Abusers,” Americans for Responsible Solutions, July 22, 2015.