Declaration of Independence from
Gun Violence
Every day in America, 33 people are murdered with guns. Our
sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, teachers and law
enforcement officers are murdered with guns at a rate 20 times
higher than in other developed countries. Many of these deaths
are preventable – because they were perpetrated by dangerous
people who never should have had guns in the first place.
Today, we declare our independence from a broken system of
weak laws that perpetuate an epidemic of gun violence.
We call for common-sense legislation that will:
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Require criminal background checks for gun sales
Get military-style assault weapons and high-capacity
magazines off our streets and
Make gun trafficking a federal crime with serious penalties
We support the Second Amendment, and we respect the rights
of all law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms. But support
for the Second Amendment also means keeping guns out of the
hands of dangerous people. As true patriots, we respect the
Constitution while committing ourselves to promoting public
safety and protecting Americans from unnecessary violence.
All Americans are entitled to live free from fear of gun violence,
and we demand that our country's laws protect the safety and
well-being of our communities.
In order to create a more perfect union, we must take
steps to pass common-sense public safety measures that
will reduce gun violence and save lives.