Today, End Citizens United (ECU) Action Fund and Brady hosted “Mission Critical: Reforming our Democracy to End Gun Violence” at the National Press Club. With keynote addresses from Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA), the event focused on how comprehensive anti-corruption and money in politics reform is critical to passing vital gun safety legislation.
“Too many politicians in Washington have let the NRA and gun manufacturers block action to reduce gun violence in this country,” said End Citizens United Action Fund President Tiffany Muller. “Whether it’s heartbreaking mass shootings like those in El Paso or Dayton, or the devastating gun violence that occurs daily around the country, too many Americans are dying and Congress must act. Senator McConnell’s refusal to pass the For the People Act is directly related to a political system that’s been thrown out of balance by a flood of unlimited, undisclosed money in politics. If we want to protect our families and communities, we must reform our democracy to combat gun violence.”
“A difference of opinion is not what is preventing action on gun violence reform – dark money is,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “The numbers support a broad range of reforms: 77 percent of gun owners favor universal background checks, 62 percent favor extreme risk protection order legislation, and 57 percent even favor requiring a license before purchasing a gun. So why hasn’t Congress taken action? Special interest donor networks, campaign finance loopholes, and millions of dollars in dark money are standing in the way of reform, and lives are quite literally on the line.”
“If we work together, we can protect our democracy, pass bills that will save lives, and go back to the day when Americans believed in the power of one person one vote, not one dollar one vote,” said Representative Lucy McBath.
“When you have an epidemic in this country that takes 40,000 lives every year, that has the American public demanding action be taken, that has known legislative solutions, and our elected officials refuse to act, we must ask ourselves ‘why’,” said Brady Vice President of Policy Christian Heyne. “What forces are at play? The American public has long resented the role special interests play in determining what’s best for our nation, and that’s when we know who is pulling the strings. What’s even more frightening is when those forces are at play and we have no idea who’s behind the scenes. It’s not the system our founding fathers envisioned and it’s not one that will end the gun violence culture that now defines our country.”
Watch the full video of the event here.
End Citizens United Action Fund, an arm of the campaign finance reform group, encourages ECU’s four million members to call their elected officials, host petition drives, participate in letter to the editor campaigns, and join coalitions of other grassroots advocacy groups to pass legislation to help get big money out of politics.
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