Responding to last night’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Ernest Coverson, Amnesty International USA’s Director of Gun Violence Prevention, had this to say:
“Once again, someone used an AR-15 to cause death, destruction, and grief. This assault rifle is the weapon of choice of mass shooters. Buffalo. Uvalde. And now Lewiston.
“Already 35,270 deaths in 2023. Uncaring. Indifferent. Reckless. Cowardly. Irresponsible. My wish is for every American to call their Congressional representative today and use these words to describe our government’s inaction on dealing with gun violence.
“Those who honestly want to make a change would see the numbers—billions of bullets sold in the U.S. annually…more than one mass shooting a day…nearly one mass killing each week thus far in 2023…thousands of deaths each year—and want to act immediately.
“The desire of an individual to have access to and to carry an AR-15 with multiple rounds of ammunition should not supersede people’s right to be safe from gun violence. These weapons must be banned for personal use.
“Leaders need to step up. Speaker Johnson—use your new power to show leadership in the peoples’ house and for the people. Bring everyone together to pass the Assault Weapons Ban and stop this national horror.”
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