Lucas, are you sickened by the amount of gun violence in the U.S. DUE TO
CONGRESSIONAL inaction?
We are.
That's why we are urging Congress to use every Congressional procedure
at their disposal to circumvent those who wish to stop gun control measures--just
as Sen. Murphy used every tool at his disposal in the Senate by using
the filibuster.
We are calling on members of Congress to use a discharge petition to pass
the assault weapons ban.
A discharge petition is a parliamentary procedure which requires the signature
of 218 members of the House of Representatives to force a bill from committee
to the floor for a vote. This process can circumvent stall tactics from
committee members and House leadership, like Speaker Paul Ryan.
Right now, the assault weapons ban is languishing in committee. Congress
can use a discharge petition to bring it to the floor for the vote. WE
NEED YOU to help us build that pressure.
Add your name if you agree: Congress should bring the assault weapons ban
up for a vote through a discharge petition.
Over the coming weeks, Daily Kos and allies, like the Progressive Change
Campaign Committee (PCCC), will be mounting a campaign to push the assault
weapons ban to a vote. This petition is only the first step in what will
surely be a long and difficult process fighting the NRA and gun lobbyists.
We will urge House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi--and every member of the
House of Representatives--to sign onto the discharge petition, forcing
Speaker Ryan to bring a vote while placing every Republican on the record.
Republicans are erasing the fact that the attacker in Orlando targeted
LGBTQ people--mostly people of color-- in an act of hate. This is no surprise,
given their repeated demagoguery towards LGBTQ and Latino/as which contributes
to deadly hatred.
These terrible murders cannot continue--we must take away the tools that
enable this destruction of life.
Take the first step today. Sign the petition from Daily Kos and the PCCC
to Congress urging the passage of the assault weapons ban through a discharge
petition.
Here's where we stand:
- Currently, there are 135 co-sponsors of the assault weapons ban in the House of Representatives. Not one of them is a Republican.
- CBS just released a poll showing 57% of Americans support banning assault weapons and only 38% oppose it -- a net 25% surge in support since the Orlando attack. President Obama and Hillary Clinton have both called for an assault weapons ban in recent days.
- A vote on the assault weapons ban will force every member of Congress to show their hand--they will go on record siding with the NRA or the American public. Republicans will no longer be able to hide behind Speaker Ryan not holding a vote.
- This is not unprecedented. A discharge petition was successful in 2015. Additionally, in 1985 the NRA used a discharge petition on the Firearm Owners Protection Act (McClure-Volkmer) to scale back gun control measures and make it easier for gun shows to operate without oversight.
We will deliver your message, and call on you to do more in the coming
weeks. Enough is enough--we must stand together against murderous weapons
of mass destruction in our communities.
Sign the petition from Daily Kos and the PCCC: This Congressional procedure
should be used to pass the assault weapons ban.
Keep fighting,
Rachel Colyer, Daily Kos