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"In light of the one-year anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown and in memory of the 30,000 Americans killed by gun violence each year, we remain committed to letting our elected officials know that we demand action to reduce gun violence in this country. As people of faith, we cannot stand idly by as gun violence tragedies continue to occur." - Rachel Laser, Deputy Director, Religious Action Center
Washington, D.C., December 18, 2013 - On Friday, December 13th, in observance of the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, Americans from a diverse array of religious backgrounds came together to once again sound the moral drumbeat for gun violence prevention. The interfaith call-in day had been planned to take place on the last day the Senate was in session before the anniversary. The shooting in a Colorado high school on December 13th was also a sobering reminder to the faith community of our continuing commitment to ensuring that we curb the national epidemic of gun violence.
As a part of Faiths Calling, faithful Americans from nearly 45 religious denominations and organizations called their Senators to ask for their support of the Manchin-Toomey background check compromise. Participants included the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, NETWORK- a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, the National Council of Churches, representing 37 Christian denominations, the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jewish movements, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, the Hindu American Foundation, the Islamic Society of North America, the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potters House mega-church in Dallas, Texas, among many others. In the last year, Faiths Calling has generated close to 23,000 phone calls to Congress urging meaningful legislation to combat gun violence.
Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center said:
"In light of the one-year anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown and in memory of the 30,000 Americans killed by gun violence each year, we remain committed to letting our elected officials know that we demand action to reduce gun violence in this country. As people of faith, we cannot stand idly by as gun violence tragedies continue to occur."
We will continue to make our voices be heard in Congress as we have throughout the past year. The faith community remains firm in its commitment to prevent gun violence in America.