Tucson Shooting Survivors, Victims’ Families And MAIG Demand A Plan To Prevent Gun Violence

Victims of gun violence and Joyce grantee launch Demand A Plan campaign calling on President Obama and Governor Romney to present their plans to end gun violence

In response to the tragedy in Aurora, a group of survivors and family members of victims of the January 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona today joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns to launch a national campaign, beginning with a full-page advertisement in USA Today, to demand a plan of action to reduce gun violence from President Obama and Governor Romney. The group of 12 survivors and family members partnered with MAIG, a bipartisan coalition of more than 700 mayors working to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, to urge the two presidential candidates to present their plans to end the gun violence that murders 34 people every day in the US.

The campaign includes a web site – www.DemandAPlan.org  – where visitors can sign a petition to demand that President Obama and Governor Romney tell the country specifically what they will do to end the bloodshed.

The Joyce Foundation supports MAIG through grants to United Against Illegal Guns Support Fund, which coordinates MAIG and works to educate the public about the detrimental effects of illegal guns and to assist local governments and law enforcement agencies to develop effective policies to combat illegal guns.

“President Obama and Governor Romney have offered sympathy for the victims of the Aurora shooting spree, but no solutions for dealing with the 34 Americans who are murdered with guns every single day,” MAIG Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. “We have heard enough people in Washington tell us that this is not the time to talk about gun violence – now it’s time to hear from the men and women who have been directly affected by it. The Tucson survivors and families have been waiting 18 months for something to change, and they deserve to know – as do all Americans – how the men running for president plan to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people. We will not allow the candidates to turn a moment of silence into months of skirting the issue.”

“We’ve gone far too long without having a real conversation about gun violence in this country,” MAIG Co-Chair and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “We’ve expressed our condolences and we will never forget those who senselessly lost their lives in Tucson and Aurora – and sadly, the many other shootings we’ve experienced in this country – but the condolences are not enough anymore. We need meaningful action and we need it now.”

The Arizonans – including 11 survivors and 1 family member of a victim – who called on President Obama and Governor Romney to develop a substantive plan to end gun violence are:

• (Ret.) Col. Bill Badger, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Dr. David Bowman, Tucson survivor
• Nancy Bowman, Tucson survivor
• Ken Dorushka, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Carol Dorushka, Tucson survivor
• Randy Gardner, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Pat Maisch, Tucson survivor
• Tom McMahon, Tucson survivor
• Mary Reed, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Angela Robinson, daughter of shooting victim Dorwan Stoddard
• Pam Simon, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Mavy Stoddard, wounded in Tucson shooting and wife of victim Dorwan Stoddard

Full message, signed by the 11 surviors and family members, read:

Another Mass Shooting in America
Another Moment of Silence
But Will the Moment Ever End?

We are survivors of the Tucson shooting and the families of the dead.

Our hearts ache for Aurora. We know the wounds they have suffered. We remember the kind words that our elected officials had for us. But we have seen their moment of silence stretch into 18 months of inaction.

We are a diverse group - Republicans, Democrats, gun owners, a nurse, a retired teacher, a hunter, a veteran. Since tragedy brought us together, we’ve tried to fix our broken gun laws. Now, after another mass shooting, our leaders are calling for sympathy for the survivors. That’s only right. But it’s not enough.

WE DEMAND ACTION. EVERY DAY, 34 MORE AMERICANS ARE MURDERED WITH A BULLET. THREE AURORA MASSACRES - EVERY SINGLE DAY.

48,000 AMERICANS WILL BE MURDERED WITH A GUN DURING THE NEXT PRESIDENT’S TERM.

What will the next president do to stop it? So far, neither candidate has been willing to address the issue head on. We cannot allow their moment of silence to turn into months and years.

We can honor the lost by working together to take simple steps that protect the Second Amendment and protect the lives of innocent people.

DEMAND COURAGE. DEMAND ACTION. DEMAND A PLAN.

View the ad at demandaplan.org

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