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A Win for Gun Violence Prevention in Washington State!
Yesterday, along with the US Senate and House of Representative elections and numerous elections on the state level, voters in Washington state chose not to stand silently by any longer in the face of gun violence. Ballot Initiative I-594 to institute universal background checks including for private sales in Washington passed by an overwhelming majority of 59.7% while the counter-initiative that would have prevented background checks in Washington State failed resoundingly. Laws similar to this one have been passed by other states, including last year in Maryland where the new law has already led to a significant drop in gun deaths state-wide.
Building Laws That Prevent Gun Violence
By Jenn Queen
In gematria, Jewish numerology, the number 40 is incredibly significant. It is the number of days of the flood in Genesis, the years the Israelites wandered in the desert and the days and nights spent waiting for Moses to descend Mt. Sinai with the Torah. It is also an important figure of a new study published yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health: the percentage by which gun deaths have decreased in Connecticut since the implementation of handgun purchaser licensing legislation.
There’s More to Gun Violence than Mental Illness
Newtown. Aurora. Tucson. These three shootings, at an elementary school in Connecticut, at a movie theater in Colorado and at a constituent meeting in Arizona, are just a few examples of the mass shootings that have captured the media’s attention in the past few years. While the shootings have sparked discussions on gun violence in this country, they have also led to conversations about the intersection of gun violence prevention and mental illness. In each of these cases, mental illness was at one point or another discussed as a potential cause of the violent crimes committed in these three towns. Whether the shooters in these attacks were mentally ill or not does not impact the importance of keeping guns out of the hands of people with mental illness. Moreover, the focus on gun violence and mental health can be limiting.
A Rabbi, a Minister, and a Priest Host a Gun Show
Sounds like the start of a joke, no?
Unfortunately, this powerful gathering was serious – deadly serious. More than 30,000 Americans will die in 2015, victims of gun violence. This after the 30,000 who have died each year in this country for many years.
Shining a Light Through Our Sorrow: Two Years After Newtown
December 14, 2014 marks the second anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In 2012, 20 school children and 6 teachers were shot in the single deadliest shooting since Virginia Tech in 2007. After the Newtown shooting, the Reform Movement once again joined with the interfaith community and renewed our long-standing efforts to support gun violence prevention legislation, and provide resources and prayer services for our communities for healing. We worked tirelessly on the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan bill that proposed universal background checks for gun purchasing we were deeply saddened when Congress failed to pass that important legislation.
How We Can Help Protect our Kids with a Simple Question
Your calendar on June 21 is probably marked for a few things: it’s Father’s Day, the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Yet this year, we’re marking our calendars for something perhaps just as important: National ASK Day. ASK, or “Asking Saves Kids,” is a campaign to keep children safe from accidental gun violence by empowering parents to ask if there is an unlocked gun in the homes where their kids play.
SAVP Trip 2015 Follow-Up
Thank you for participating in the annual NFTY social action leaders trip to the RAC! We applaud your commitment to social justice and can't wait to hear and see the amazing social justice work you do within your regions this year.
NFTY Mechina 2015 Follow-Up
The RAC created a series of resources for the 2015 NFTY Mechina leadership training event to support NFTY's social justice work.
The Tragedy and Horror of the Charleston Church Shooting
Nine people were killed last night at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., when a 21-year-old man opened fire.
The Tragedy and Horror of the Charleston Church Shooting
Last night, 9 people were killed at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina when a 21 year old man opened fire. The tragedy has shaken the country and reminded us that violence and hatred know no boundaries, and can reach us even within the walls of a house of worship. RAC Deputy Director Rachel Laser shared the following statement: