End Citizens United and Brady released the following statement in response to President Trump’s meeting today with Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association (NRA), where the President discussed trading away gun violence prevention measures for support during his impeachment inquiry despite Trump saying he would take action on gun violence in light of multiple mass shootings in August:
“Donald Trump is the most corrupt President in modern history and he’ll do anything for the NRA’s money. When the NRA says jump, President Trump asks, ‘How high?’ We need to stop the gun violence destroying our communities and to do that we need to get the corporate gun lobby’s money out of our politics,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller.
“The NRA, quite ironically, attempts to label itself as ‘Freedom’s Safest Place.’ Their actions in seeking what appears to be an unlawful legislative payback for funding President Trump’s defense as he faces impeachment show an unprecedented level of corruption in our democracy. This political gamesmanship is literally taking American lives. One hundred people in the United States are killed every single day by preventable gun violence. We know the solutions, but the NRA is using its monetarily secured relationship, fueled by Russia, to stop our President from taking action. Every member of Congress that fails to vote on gun violence prevention legislation is bowing down to this corruption, including, most notably, our Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“McConnell has been sitting on life-saving legislation to expand the Brady Background Check system for more than 200 days. And in that time, 20,000 people in America have died due to gun violence. If memory serves, our officials were elected by Americans, and we the people, we American people, deserve better. We deserve to live in a country where we can go about our daily lives without the fear of being shot,” said Brady President Kris Brown.
To read more about the meeting click here.
End Citizens United and Brady recently 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.
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