Brady Weekly March 30, 2019

Brady Leader Amanda Wilcox Gives Moving Testimony Before U.S. Senate Panel [This Week in Brady News]( View this email as a [webpage]( Jim Brady Was Shot 38 Years Ago Today On March 30, 1981, Jim Brady was shot when a gunman tried to kill President Reagan. Jim suffered a serious injury that left him partially paralyzed for life. But a bullet to the brain couldn’t stop him. Jim and his wife, Sarah, took the tragedy and turned it into a movement. They led the fight to pass the Brady Bill — which to date has blocked more than 3 million prohibited gun sales and saved countless lives. [Watch our powerful video honoring Jim and Sarah — and feel proud of your part in keeping their lifesaving work moving forward.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Brady Leader Amanda Wilcox Gives Moving Testimony Before U.S. Senate Panel On Tuesday, Amanda Wilcox, longtime Brady supporter and legislative chair of Brady’s California Chapters, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the urgent need for federal extreme risk laws. Amanda shared how her daughter, Laura, was shot and killed 18 years ago in a mass shooting spree. Had an extreme risk law been in place at the time, the shooter could have been blocked from access to guns. Amanda joins a long line of Brady experts in testifying on Capitol Hill, following Las Vegas Route 91 survivor Heather Gooze, Parkland shooting survivor Aalayah Eastmond, and Brady board member and @ThisIsOurLane founder Dr. Joseph Sakran. [Read more about Amanda’s powerful Senate testimony on the Brady blog.]( [Kris Brown and Amanda] --------------------------------------------------------------- Team ENOUGH’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources The tragic suicides by two Parkland survivors and the father of a Sandy Hook victim are a painful reminder of the devastating, long-term ripple effects of gun violence. Every day, 63 people die by suicide with a gun, and firearm suicides have gone up nearly every year since 2006. Brady [joined with]( the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) to raise awareness about the link between access to guns and suicide risk. Our Team ENOUGH also compiled mental health resources. [Please bookmark Team ENOUGH’s resources and share with your networks!]( [National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Text TALK to 741-741] --------------------------------------------------------------- We Helped Deliver Over 6,000 Handwritten Letters to Congress! Brady and Team ENOUGH partnered with March for Our Lives to deliver 6,000 handwritten letters to senators urging them to pass universal background checks into law. Team ENOUGH leader Amos Jackson III, who’s also SGA president at Howard University, spoke at the rally. In total, Brady and Team ENOUGH sent more than 18,000 emails to senators demanding legislative action. Additionally, our joint lobbying collective between Team ENOUGH and March for Our Lives DC met with more than 30 Senate offices — including a majority of Republican offices — and urged action to expand background checks and pass extreme risk laws. [Watch footage of Team ENOUGH leader Amos Jackson III speaking at the rally for the letter delivery.]( [Amos Jackson III] --------------------------------------------------------------- Bump Stocks are FINALLY Illegal in the U.S.! In a long-awaited victory, a federal ban on bump stocks went into effect this week. Bump stocks are a deadly attachment that allow a semi-automatic weapon to fire continuously. The ban comes a year and a half after the dangerous device was used in the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest shooting — the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Brady has helped lead the fight to ban bump stocks, including through our pending class action lawsuit against the manufacturers on behalf of the Las Vegas victims. But more needs to be done. We’re calling for our Congressional leaders to classify bump stocks as illegal machine guns, ensuring that our communities are safe from the deadly device. [Read more from our press release.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Save the Date! We’re Hosting a Tweet Chat with Igor Volsky of Guns Down America Brady is hosting a Tweet chat — or a Q&A over Twitter — with advocate Igor Volsky at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, April 5. Volsky’s new book, “Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns,” will be published in April. We’ll discuss the issues in the book and solutions to end America’s gun violence epidemic. [Sign up to save the date for the Tweet chat with Volsky.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) Hero of the Week Amanda Wilcox courageously testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. But that wasn’t the start of her advocacy. Amanda’s spent almost two decades working with Brady to pass stronger gun laws and ensure that no mother has to endure the pain of losing a child to gun violence. In California alone, she’s helped pass over 60 gun safety bills. Share the image below to thank Amanda for tireless advocacy. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Facebook]( [Tweet]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Brady in the News: Must-Reads [Focus of gun-law fight shifts to New Mexico sheriffs’ emails]( AP ["I cannot get her life back": Lawmakers hold rare gun control hearing to discuss "red flag" state laws]( CBS News [Sandy Hook Decision Reins in Gun Industry Shield Law]( Bloomberg Law [Federal bump stock ban set to go into effect Tuesday even as gun-rights group appeals regulation to Supreme Court]( CNBC [New Zealand Banned All Assault Weapons. Could That Work in America?]( TIME --------------------------------------------------------------- Brady Quote of the Week “If our law enforcement officers are refusing to enforce the law, they’re refusing to stand in defense of public safety.” — Brady President Kris Brown on the refusal of New Mexico sheriffs to enforce the state’s newly passed gun safety law. --------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Brady on Social Media: [Follow us on Facebook]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Follow us on Instagram]( Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 840 First Street, NE Suite 400 Washington, DC 20002 United States Paid for by the Brady Campaign. Contributions to the Brady Campaign are not tax deductible. Our work is made possible by supporters like you. [DONATE]( If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please [unsubscribe](