1. Support Federal Background Checks.
TELL THE HOUSE TO ENACT H.R. 1565!
Introduced in April by Representative Peter King (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), H.R.1565, Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013, is the U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the Manchin-Toomey background check amendment that failed by five votes in the Senate in April. This bipartisan bill will expand the existing background check system to cover all commercial firearm sales– including those at gun shows, over the internet or in classified ads–with exceptions for family and friend transfers.
Please call, email and tweet the following New York congressmen and ask them to support H.R.1565 and tell them to resist gun lobby pressure to water down or block this legislation.
Michael Grimm (Dist 11) – 202 225 3371; twitter @RepMichaelGrimm
Sean Patrick Maloney (Dist 18) – 202 225 5441; twitter @SPMaloney
Chris Gibson (Dist 19) – 202 225 5614; twitter @RepChrisGibson
Richard Hanna (Dist 22) – 202 225 3665; twitter @RepRichardHanna
Tom Reed (Dist 23) – 202 225 3161; twitter @RepTomReed
Urge your own Representative to co-sponsor H.R.1565. Click here to get contact information for your Representative.
TELL THE SENATE TO TRY AGAIN!
Tell U.S. Senators you demand action to enact background checks–and they should vote again to support the Manchin-Toomey amendment.
Tweet your displeasure and disgust at all those senators, Democrats included, who voted “NO.” Tell them you demand universal background checks to keep weapons from criminals and other dangerous individuals. (*Except Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose vote was on procedural grounds.)
Tweet thanks to the Senators who voted “YES” on universal background checks and other gun safety measures and urge them to take action again.
Click here for Senators’ Twitter handles.
2. Support Child Access Prevention (CAP) Laws for New York State.
While New York has one of the strongest gun safety laws in the country, the state still needs child access prevention and safe storage laws to prevent gun accidents, especially among young children. Contact your New York State Assembly representative and urge him or her to support Assembly bill A-03941, the Children’s Weapon Accident Prevention Act, sponsored by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg. The Act “creates crimes of failure to store a weapon safely in the first and second degrees, aggravated failure to store a weapon, and criminally negligent storage of a weapon in the first and second degrees and directs the commissioner of education to develop a weapons safety program.”
Find your New York State elected officials here.
3. Support the NY SAFE Act.
About the Law: The NY SAFE Act was enacted on 1/15/2013, making New York gun laws among the toughest in the nation. Major provisions include:
- Requiring background checks for all gun and ammunition sales
- Strengthening New York’s assault weapons ban, making it a one characteristic ban and calling for registering currently owned assault weapons.
- Limiting bullets in ammunition magazines to seven.
- Requiring firearms permits in counties where they are currently issued for life to be recertified every five years.
- Regulating ammunition sales.
- Increasing penalties for gun crimes.
The NY SAFE Act is under attack by the gun lobby. So far 52 of 62 counties–with the backing of the NY Rifle and Pistol Association and with the help of some legislators– have passed non-binding resolutions to repeal the law. We need to protect the law and ensure it is fully implemented.
Find your New York State elected officials here and tell them to defend the NY SAFE Act.
Sign the petition thanking Governor Cuomo and State Legislators for their leadership.
4. Support New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
Make a donation to the NYAGV advocacy fund and help NYAGV fight to keep our New York State gun safety laws strong and to strengthen federal gun laws.
Make a tax deductible donation to the NYAGV education fund to help NYAGV educate New York youth about how to avoid gun violence.
