Hi there,
Please note: this email contains language that may trigger feelings of trauma related to gun violence.
—
On Saturday, January 19th, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton performed at President Obama’s second inaugural parade in D.C. Ten days later, she was shot and killed just blocks from her school in Chicago. She was 15 years old.
After her death Hadiya’s friends wore orange to honor her, and in the years since orange has become the color we wear on National Gun Violence Awareness Day to honor all victims of gun violence and show unity around the insistence that this cannot remain our reality.
One hundred Americans die from gun violence every day. We treat it as if it’s normal, but it’s not. It can’t be. We owe it to our fellow citizens and our loved ones to keep them safe.
We owe it to them to implement universal background checks.
We owe it to them to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
We owe it to them to establish a nationwide gun licensing system.
We owe it to them to hold the gun industry accountable.
We cannot let them down yet again. Those of us in elected office owe it to you to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even if it means losing an election.
I’m from the school shooting generation. I’m also someone who served in a war zone. One thing I know is that the weapon I carried in Afghanistan, an M-4, is not that different from an AR-15, and neither belongs anywhere near an American school.
Most Americans support common sense gun reform, yet Washington has not been able to deliver. Today, I’m wearing orange and asking you to support Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, an organization working to make our communities safer.
Thank you,
Pete
Pete
Pete for America
PO Box 1226
South Bend, IN 46624
United States
Paid for by Pete For America.
