The Very Latest
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It took longer than expected, but this afternoon we finished counting:
More than 1.4 million Americans signed our petition demanding expanded background checks for gun sales—by far the most in @ofa history.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 7, 2013
Later this week, volunteers will personally deliver every one of those petitions to Congress. That's more than 1.4 million people who aren't backing down, and aren't going away.
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How do you quantify the work of thousands of volunteers fighting to reduce gun violence?
There's no perfect way to measure the full impact, but the number of petitions gathered in support of background checks for gun sales—more than 750,000 as of last Friday—and the plummeting approval ratings of senators who are blocking popular reforms both point to the incredible impact supporters have had in just a few months.
But there's also the hundreds of grassroots events, and the countless conversations they've helped foster. From the nightly news to hometown newspapers, OFA supporters have kept the issue of gun violence in the spotlight, and kept the pressure on lawmakers to act.
We've put together a map of just some of the news coverage that OFA volunteers have helped drive over the past few month. Take a look:
When hundreds of thousands of people speak up, it doesn't go unnoticed.
This fight is far from over.
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The gun lobby is pretty happy with itself.
They succeeded in scaring members of Congress into voting against something that 90 percent of Americans—and 74 percent of NRA members—support. They like it the way things are, where the most powerful interest groups in Washington get to override the voices of millions of Americans.
OFA will be the grassroots movement that counteracts that. We're going to show members of Congress that, if you stand up to the special interests, the people in your districts will be right there to get your back.
Our petition to Congress is going to the printers at midnight tonight. It'd be a real shame if it didn't have your name on it, wouldn't it?
We'll never be as deep-pocketed or as well-connected as the gun lobby. What we have is better. It's the voices of real Americans who are standing up and saying they've seen enough of gun violence tearing apart communities like Newtown and Tucson and Aurora and Chicago.
Together, we're committing to keep fighting for this issue until something is done. We will be heard‐and it's time for our lawmakers in Washington to find their courage to stand up to a political bully.
Add your name to OFA's petition to congressional leaders before midnight to demand that they take action to reduce gun violence.
Let's go.
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In 2009, my schoolmate Greg Robinson was in the backseat of a car returning home from a basketball game when someone with a gun opened fire. He died shielding his young cousins from gunfire.
Greg wasn't a gang member—he was a 14-year-old who wanted to play basketball. He was quiet and kind, and that year, he was the 28th student in the Chicago public school system to be killed.
Since then, I've been fighting for common-sense gun legislation to honor Greg's memory and to help prevent this kind of violence from happening again. I added my name to OFA's petition to Congress demanding action on gun violence. But my voice and my story isn't enough on its own. Together, our voices are powerful enough to make Congress act—so please, add your name, too.
Right now, I live in Georgia for school—and last month I watched my new senators both vote against expanding background checks for gun sales. It was disappointing and disheartening. All I could think about was the kids back in my neighborhood in Chicago. We have an acronym: LIFE—living in fear everyday.
But bullets don't come with name tags. No one intended to shoot Greg, or his little cousins. On your walk to school or on your way home, you couldn't help but be afraid that it could happen to you.
That's why I'm not giving up just because we lost one vote. As a country, we can and should make it harder for bad guys to get their hands on deadly weapons. To me, it's just common sense.
Sign OFA's petition to Congress to demand action on universal background checks for gun sales, and take one big step toward making our communities safer.
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Want proof that what OFA volunteers are doing is working? The senators who voted against expanding background checks are getting their poll numbers back since that vote—and they're not subtle. Check out how their approval ratings changed:
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the champions of the proposal, has seen his approval rating at 48 percent, his highest ever.
Those numbers are showing these senators that there's a price to pay for turning their backs on the people who sent them to Washington. We're speaking out, and they're feeling the heat. As long as we don't let up now, there is real momentum on our side.
We'll deliver these names next week with a note for Congress: This fight is far from over.
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Last week, 45 senators sided with the gun lobby and voted against expanding background checks for gun sales. I said then that we weren't going to forget—and that we weren't going to stop fighting until we get the job done. Today we're following through on that.
Next week, we'll deliver an OFA petition to Congress demanding that they take common-sense action to reduce gun violence.
But it'll only be as powerful as the number of supporters behind it. Please take a minute and add your name to this petition right now.
In politics, there are two kinds of people: Those who say they're going to do something, and those who actually do it. I have no doubt about which of those groups OFA supporters are in.
But if we want Congress to get serious about reducing gun violence, and if we don't want to see the fire behind this issue slip away, we are the ones who have to keep it going. We choose who represents us in Congress—and what the constituents want is something that no politician can afford to ignore. That's why your voice is such an important part of this fight. People like me can talk all we want, but your representatives want to hear from you.
This letter will go to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on behalf of OFA next week. Make sure your name is on it:
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Right now, way too many lawmakers in Washington flat-out refuse to face the facts when it comes to climate change.
We're never going to make real progress on this issue unless members of Congress get serious. Instead, some of them have made a habit of publicly mocking it. We thought it was time to call them out for denying what's basic science:
The science matters in this. That's the message way too many people in Washington need to hear right now. In 2011, there were 240 members of Congress who voted to say that climate change is a hoax. Most of them are still around today, and they're getting away with it—some of them are actually proud of it. They think the whole debate is pretty funny.
If we want to make progress on climate change, we need everyone in Congress on board for a solution. It's our job to show them there's a price to pay for being a climate denier.
Add your name to join the fight.
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Last week, 45 senators decided to stand with the gun lobby, blocking a bill to expand background checks—a measure that 90% of Americans support.
They were hoping you weren't paying attention.
OFA supporters across the country are holding their senators accountable today—if you live in one of the states below, your senator needs to hear directly from you, one of the people who sent them to Washington. One simple, very public way of doing that is to get on Twitter.
Tweet @ your senator now:
Alaska Arkansas Arizona Georgia Iowa Montana Nevada New Hampshire North Dakota Ohio
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Organizing for Actions volunteers thank Senator John McCain for his support of comprehensive background checks for commercial gun sales. Photo by Jerry Burch
Organizing for Action volunteers in Phoenix gathered on Saturday with mixed emotions. We’d held over a dozen events and delivered thousands of petitions asking our senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, to support comprehensive background checks for gun sales. We were hopeful after the announcement of the Manchin-Toomey compromise, and then angry and disappointed when Senator Flake went back on his word and refused to support the bill.
But even though the bill was blocked by a minority of senators, our senior senator, John McCain, voted “yes,” one of only four Republicans to do so.
We are all so passionate about this issue that we decided to gather on Saturday to demand an answer and action from Senator Flake, but also to thank Senator McCain for standing with the 90% of Americans who support this common-sense step to prevent gun violence.
We started the afternoon at Senator Flake’s office. More than 120 volunteers came early, with homemade signs and letters. Others wrote notes to Senator Flake, showing that neither we nor this issue was going away. We listened to the passionate pleas from gun violence survivors, family members of gun violence victims, grief counselors, and domestic violence advocates, as well as an encouraging speech from State Senator Steve Gallardo continuing our call to action.
Shortly after, we wrote thank-you notes to Senator McCain and then made our way across the street to his office, with “thank you” signs in hand. The speakers commended Senator McCain for showing leadership on this issue, and made it clear that we’re still hopeful that, with his help and support, we will get a bipartisan law to protect our country and our local community.
Hildy Saizow, from Arizonans for Gun Safety, was concluding her speech with a passionate call to “give a big thank-you to Senator John McCain” when a white-haired gentleman in a blue blazer turned the corner. We were shocked and excited to see Senator McCain himself, who had been driving by his office on his way home and had seen the thank-you signs. The senator had pulled over to the side of the road to thank his constituents for our support.
More than 100 OFA volunteers were able to thank the senator for his leadership in person, and Gloria Galeno, a gun violence survivor and advocate against domestic violence, shook the senator’s hand. Many noted the stark contrast between the two senators here in Arizona.
When I personally thanked Senator McCain for stopping by he simply said he wanted to meet his constituents who supported him on this important issue for Arizona. It was an uplifting end to our day, and an encouraging example of how our activism is making a difference.
One “yes” vote down, one more to go—and we are not giving up the fight.
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A few months ago, I shared my story about my dad, Reuven, who was killed this past September in a mass shooting in Minneapolis. Since then, I've been fighting every single day to reduce gun violence, so no one else ever has to grieve like I did.
When the Senate defeated a bill that would expand background checks last week, I just couldn't believe it. Something that 90% of Americans support should be a slam dunk.
Right now, we might be witnessing the greatest disconnect between Congress and the American people in our history. This is why Organizing for Action's job is so important. Together, we can make sure that no one in Washington ever gets away with ignoring the voices of the people who sent them there—no matter how powerful the special interests.
Add your name—say you're ready to keep on fighting.
I can't get over the fact that those 45 senators cast their votes against background checks while family members of the victims of Newtown, Tucson, and Virginia Tech watched from the Senate gallery.
Could those senators even look those families in the eye and explain themselves?
The truth I'm finding is that the gun lobby has got decades worth of money and organizing behind them, and they know how to stir their supporters into a frenzy. But 90% of this country is on our side, not theirs. If we all step up, we will be heard. And we will win the next vote.
This past weekend, thousands of OFA supporters got together at 45 targeted events across the country to thank the senators who stood up for us, and to tell the senators who caved to the special interests that we're not about to give up this fight. That's the kind of action I'm talking about.
Let's make sure that Wednesday was the most powerful the gun lobby will ever be in Washington—add your name right now.
Thanks. Now back to work.