Guest Blog: Moms Demand Action – For Gun Sense in America

Sarah Micheli is a local mother of two, and the membership lead for Eugene/Springfield Moms Demand Action.

Though the name of this group is ‘Moms’, parents and caregivers of all gender identities are welcome, encouraged to join, and needed in the work to create safe communities for children.

In 2017, a dear friend of mine lost her niece in the Vegas shooting. Not even a year later, my cousin called me to let me know that her daughter was safe at Parkland High School. At that time I realized I could no longer sit idle. I joined my local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to learn how to take action to prevent gun violence. And now here we are four years later, and I learned of the Uvalde shooting while I was at my eldest son’s elementary school just minutes before his class was released for the day. I hugged him extra tight and fought back tears (that did not work) and vowed I would do my part. Is there any other option?

We live in a wonderful state. A state that I am proud to call home. That being said, gun violence is on the rise here as it is in the U.S as a whole. According to the most recent CDC data, Oregon has the 35th highest rate of gun deaths in the country with a rate of 13 per 100,00 people. The Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation projects that this rate will climb through 2022. In the wake of the U.S Supreme Court’s ruling on states’ ability to regulate guns outside the home, advocacy for common-sense regulations is even more urgent. For these reasons, I am so grateful to be a part of Moms Demand Action.

Moms Demand Action was started by Shannon Watts, an Indiana mother of five and former communications executive. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy she started a facebook group to reduce gun violence. Not solely for moms, but for all caring and concerned individuals (much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving).

Today, Moms Demand Action is a non-partisan grassroots movement with nearly 10 million supporters! We have helped pass stronger gun laws and are working to close the loopholes that keep our families safe. We also work on the local level to educate and encourage responsible gun ownership. The mission of Moms Demand Action is to prevent gun violence and increase public safety. We are committed to keeping our community, and our loved ones, safe!

We can and will support responsible gun ownership while doing much more to keep guns out of the wrong hands and create a culture of gun safety. That’s why we advocate for the following, evidence-based policies to keep our families and communities safe:

• Keeping Guns Out of the Wrong Hands – A Better Background Check System. Right now in Oregon, if a background check takes longer than three days to complete, a buyer may go ahead and purchase the gun. This is known as the Charleston Loophole, because this is how the shooter who killed nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC purchased his gun. Lawmakers must close this and other deadly loopholes in the background check system.

• Protecting Kids and Communities – Supporting Red Flag Laws and Responsible Access to Firearms. To keep our families safe from mass shootings and reduce gun suicides, lawmakers must pursue policies like Red Flag laws or Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), which allow family and law enforcement to intervene if someone poses a threat to themselves or others, before deadly tragedies involving firearms take place. Oregon passed an ERPO law in 2017. Implementation efforts are ongoing, to ensure that those who need it are aware of how to use it. Lawmakers must also limit easy access to firearms and accessories capable of inflicting mass casualties and encourage safe and responsible storage of all guns.

• Addressing America’s Uniquely Lethal Domestic Abuse Problem – Disarming Domestic Abusers. More than half of women murdered with guns in America are killed by an intimate partner or family member, and women are five times more likely to be killed in a domestic confrontation when a gun is present. Lawmakers must strengthen laws that help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.

• Combating Daily Gun Violence – Supporting Research, Law Enforcement and Local Solutions. The government needs to support law enforcement, researchers and local communities in their efforts to combat daily gun violence by funding new research into gun violence; community-driven, evidence-based interventions to curb city gun violence; and new tools to help law enforcement collect evidence, trace all crime guns, reduce trafficking and solve gun crimes.

Several of these issues are addressed in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which just passed in Congress and is the first federal piece of gun violence prevention legislation in almost 30 years. This law will save lives! It would not have been possible without the tireless work of volunteers over the last few decades. But it is still not enough. We need to urge Congress to continue addressing gun violence while our country is still in crisis.

However much time you have, wherever your interests and strength lie, we welcome you. Text READY to 644-33 to join a local Moms Demand Action chapter in your area. And click on these links for more options to get involved.

• Thank your Congresspeople for their YES vote on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

• Attend the virtual Eugene/Springfield member meeting on July 14

• Donate to support gun violence prevention activities in Oregon and nationwide

• Download the Demand Action app

Warmly,

Sarah B. Micheli

Membership Lead

Eugene/Springfield Moms Demand Action