Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Press release from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:
On the Top 10 Worst State List the Moms Demand Action-Arizona Chapter will host a Press Conference Highlighting the Need for Stronger Legislation
(Tucson, AZ) Oct. 19, 2013: In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has launched a national domestic gun violence awareness campaign to push for stronger policies surrounding domestic violence and gun ownership.
The local Arizona Chapter will be participating with a press conference on October 19, 2013 at 3202 East 1st Street Tucson, Arizona 85716, 1:00 PM.
Featured speakers will include Jocelyn Strauss, regional manager of Moms Demand Action Arizona Chapter; Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild; Steve Kozachik, Ward 6 City Councilman; and Richard Miranda, City Manager.
Congressman Ron Barber, and State Representative Bruce Wheeler will also join us.
Moms Demand Action is partnering with the Violence Policy Center (VPC) to promote its report, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2011 Homicide Data http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf, released Sept. 25, 2013, which lists the top 10 states with the highest rates of females murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents in 2011. The report revealed that Arizona had the #5 worst homicide rate among female victims murdered by males, with 56 percent of these homicides related to domestic violence, and 65 percent of those victims killed by guns.
According to the new report:
- Firearm, especially handguns, were the most common weapon used by males to murder females in 2011.
- Of the females killed with a firearm, nearly two-thirds were murdered by male intimates.- The number of females shot and killed by their husband or intimate acquaintance (489 victims) was more than five times higher than the total number murdered by male strangers using all weapons combined (92 victims) in single victim/single offender incidents in 2011.
- Between 2008 and 2012, over 60% of all domestic violence related homicides were committed with a firearm.
We are asking Congress to protect women from domestic abusers by immediately enacting common-sense reforms that will help keep guns out of dangerous hands, said Jocelyn Strauss, regional manager of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Arizona Chapter. It is far too easy for an abuser or someone with a domestic violence conviction to get his hands on a gun without a background check. We urgently need better policies that protect women and their families from this senseless violence. No American, adult or child, should live in a perpetual state of fear. Its inhumane. Moms Demand Action is asking for:
Members of the House to co-sponsor H.R. 1565, the King/Thompson bill, which would extend background checks to private and online sales of firearms. The Senate to bring the Manchin/Toomey bill back to the Senate floor and pass it. This legislation would also expand the background check system and close loopholes that would help keep guns out of dangerous hands.
- Both chambers to commit to working on and supporting legislation to protect abused women, like S. 1290, the "Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act of 2013;" H.R. 2648, the Keeping Guns from High Risk Individuals Act; H.R. 1914, the "Preventing Victims of Stalking Act of 2013; and, H.R. 1177, the Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act.
- Sign our petition. http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/prevent-domestic-gun-violence-in-arizona
The sad reality is that women are nearly always murdered by someone they know, said VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand. We need new policies in place from local communities to the federal government to protect women from harm.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. A huge, and necessary component of that is to educate the public that when a weapon is entered into a Domestic Violence situation, the results can be, and often are, fatal, said Steve Kozachik, Ward 6 City Councilman. I'm honored to be joining Moms Demand Action on October 19th to call for policy makers throughout the Nation, and around Arizona to adopt strict background check standards as a tool to make it more difficult for people with DV histories from slipping through the cracks and getting their hands on guns. Policy makers owe it to our daughters, wives, and significant others to stand on the principle that guns in the hands of DV perpetrators is unacceptable.
As part of the domestic gun violence awareness campaign, Moms Demand Action is encouraging moms to create and decorate a number 9 to represent the nine women who lose their lives each week to domestic gun violence. The 9 will be sent electronically and delivered in-person to members of Congress. http://momsdemandaction.org/domestic-gun-violence/**
About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:
Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving was created to change laws regarding drunk driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to build support for common-sense gun reforms. The nonpartisan grassroots movement of American mothers is demanding new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. In just nine months, the organization has more than 100,000 members with a chapter in every state in the country. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter @MomsDemand.
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