Facts Matter When We Think About Solutions

TRUTHINESS

The concept that a person’s perception and how they ‘feel’ about things supersedes fact.
— coined by Stephen Colbert

Dear Fellow Activists,

Many of you are feeling discouraged. Many of you are asking us What Can Be Done? What Can I Do?

First, let me assure you that even small acts can be significant. You don’t have to do something big, something flashy, or something considered “newsworthy.” You don’t have to carry a sign or wear a t-shirt.

You can make a phone call, have a conversation with a neighbor, call your legislator … but always know the facts! One of the most important things you can do to help prevent gun violence is to know and share the facts with others!

Yesterday and this morning I listened to Republican lawmakers, the President, and their spin doctors respond to this weekend’s mass shootings. And although I wasn’t surprised, I was still annoyed to hear the same old UNTRUE NRA talking points.

THE PRESIDENT:
Mental illness is the problem.
FACTS:
No it isn’t! People with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of crime, not perpetrators of crime. And as an aside, how come it’s only mental illness when the shooter is white? I don’t hear the mental illness excuse when the shooter is a person of color.

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN KEVIN MCCARTHY:
Video games and violent media are the problem.
FACTS:
No they aren’t! Video games, movies, music — they are all global yet we are the only country that has such a high incidence of gun violence. It always comes back to the easy accessibility to guns!

YOU CAN BE THE PERSON THAT YOUR FRIENDS COME TO WHEN THEY WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH.
AND HERE’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO! VOTE!

We all need to be single-issue voters! Vote in every single election — local, state, federal — and vote only for those candidates that support #gunsense legislation!

It may be hard to accept but it is unlikely that we are going to get significant and relevant federal legislation with the current Senate and President. Any legislation they will consider will be based on NRA lies. From the Senate and this President I’m expecting legislation based on NRA talking points — on video games and mental health instead of Universal Background Checks and an Assault Weapon Ban.

The NRA spent $54.4 million in the 2016 election and that money went almost entirely to Republicans. Of that $54.4, 265 dollars — yes 265 dollars — went to Democrats. So if you are looking for a reason that the President blames mental illness, that Kevin McCarthy blames video games, that Senate Leader Mitch McConnell won’t bring up gun legislation that has passed the House — look no further than the money.