URGENT -Churches & Gun Sale Background Checks

Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations April 2021  Contents: 1. ACT Now! Background Check Vote Pending in US Senate 2. History of PCUSA support for comprehensive Background Checks Dear Friends, We are in a terrible crisis of gun violence, surging gun sales and police gun violence across America. Take hope and take action on Life-Saving Background Checks legislation. It has passed the US Congress and a Senate vote is imminent, any day. This is the greatest opportunity for federal action to prevent gun violence in a generation. Please act now. In Christ, PPF Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Photo above, As part of The Road Trip for Background Checks, PPF Gun Violence Prevention Ministry Coordinator Rev. Deanna Hollas signs Background Check Banner in Dallas.  Below, The Road Trip kicked off in Chicago April 6. Volunteers drove on 7 different routes with over 60 stops in 23 states from coast to coast, gathering signatures and support. The 16,000 mile Road Trip arrived with banners and messages in Washington DC on April 14 to call on the US Senate to support Background Checks. Background Checks: Ask your senators to support the 117th Congress Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021. Read the bill here Act now. Time is short. • Phone your Senators in Washington DC at 202-224-3121 Everyone, please call. (Then write!) Sample Call Message: Hi, this is _______. I'm from ______. I want to ask Senator____ to support the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021. I'm a Presbyterian and our Church has studied this issue for many years. I believe that passing background checks on all gun sales is the right thing to do to save lives. Thank you. • Find Senators' names & web addresses at USSenate.gov On their website look for an email address, which is better than the web forms many senators provide. • You can write any US Senator at US Senate, Washington DC 20510 The Background Checks Act of 2021 was passed in the US House of Representatives as HR 8 in March and a Senate vote is imminent. With your action, federal legislation to prevent gun violence has a chance to pass both houses and be signed into law for the first time in a generation. Learn how Covid-19 has increased the need for bipartisan support for background checks at everytown.org Want to Do More? Pray for your senators, preach on this rare moment of crisis and opportunity, contribute funds to a group working on Background Checks, make a church announcement to organize an urgent "Offering of Letters and Calls." Share this information with your church, social action committee, Sunday School class, family, neighbors, friends. Set a goal to reach 5 or 10 or more to encourage them to make phone calls to their senators. Thank you. Background on PCUSA support for Background Checks In 1968, Presbyterians began calling for controls on gun sales at the 108th General Assembly.... Read More HERE  ‌  ‌  ‌ More News 1. Change is Coming As you know, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship paused much of its program in 2020 and 2021 to focus deeply on anti-racism and de-policing. That sustained time of study has been completed. We are starting our work back up --but in new ways. Stay tuned. 2. Ecumenical Advocacy Days April 18-21 IMAGINE! God's Earth & People Restored Sign up for this virtual event at advocacydays.org 3. Courageous Conversations with Deanna Hollas and Ohio’s God Before Guns This video was recorded just after the Atlanta shooting that killed 8 persons and just before news of the Boulder shooting that killed 10 persons. Watch at Godbeforeguns.org 4. PPF Congregational Toolkit on Gun Violence Prevention Click HERE for free download or to order a printed copy. "When it is easier to get a gun than a scholarship to college, something is wrong." --Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Chicago Pastor  “Along with faith and prayer, I also know that ‘faith without work is dead.’ I am imploring everyone to continue to fight for more comprehensive background checks — especially as we see gun sales surge.” --Rev. Sharon Risher Risher lost her mother, two cousins and her childhood friend at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Church shooting in Charleston, SC in 2015 Gun Violence Prevention Ministry Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Rev. Deanna Hollas, Coordinator 214-702-2265 gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org presbypeacefellowship.org  ‌  ‌  ‌

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