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TO NATIONAL, AND RELIGION EDITORS:
Statement on Shootings at Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom
in Kansas City
NEW YORK, April 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayors Against
Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America released
the following statement from Reverend Michelle Reed, a member of the
Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action in response to the shootings at
the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and Village Shalom
where at least 3 people were killed today.
"Kansans are still reeling from the breaking news that, on the eve of
Passover, a gunman has killed at least three people at the JCC and
Village Shalom - our thoughts and prayers are with them and their
loved ones," said Reverend Reed. "We don't know all of the details
yet, but we know that events like this remind us how none of us is
immune -- gun violence knows no boundaries of religion, race, class or
age. We won't wait until our families or communities are affected by
gun violence. We demand -- right now -- to be safe from gun violence
in our places of worship, in our community centers, and wherever we
may go. It's time for our political leaders to take immediate action
to end this public health epidemic."
Major Gun Violence Anniversaries This Week:
April 16 Virginia Tech Shooting
April 17 1st Anniversary of Senate Failure to Pass Background Checks for All Gun Sales
April 20 Columbine Shooting
Spokespeople Available:
From Kansas
Reverend Michelle Reedis the pastor at the Woodland United Methodist Church in Wichita. She is also an active member of the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action.
TerriLynn Barrett Miller
is the chapter leader of Kansas Moms Demand Action.
Survivors of Gun Violence at Jewish Community Centers
Mindy Finkelstein
is a survivor of the August 1999 shooting at the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center, where a white supremacist opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon in the lobby and wounded five people. Finkelstein was a 16-year-old camp counselor at the time. The shooter was a felon -- thus prohibited by federal law to own a gun, but because he purchased his gun from a private seller at a gun show, he was not required to pass a background check. Finkelstein now works for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Stan Stumbo
's daughter Cheryl Stumbo was shot and wounded at the Jewish Federation in Seattle in 2006, where one person was killed and five were injured. Stan is a gun owner who quit the National Rifle Association because of the organization's opposition to background checks.
National Gun Violence Leaders
John Feinblatt, Chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, previously served as Chief Policy Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Feinblatt leads former Mayor Bloomberg's national coalitions on guns. He previously served as the Criminal Justice Coordinator for the City of New York and was the founding director of the Center for Court Innovation, the country's leading think tank devoted to problem solving justice.
Mark Glaze is Executive Director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Glaze is the son of a former federally licensed gun dealer in Colorado.
Shannon Watts
, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, is a 43-year-old mother of five children. Watts was not an activist or involved in gun issues prior to the shootings at Sandy Hook on Dec. 14, 2012. The day after the tragedy, she started a Facebook page called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Since then, Moms Demand Action has become a nonprofit organization with tens of thousands of members and more than 80 local chapters across the country. Watts' goal is for Moms Demand Action to become the Mothers Against Drunk Driving of safe gun laws.
About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has
grown from 15 mayors of major American cities to more than 1.5 million
grassroots supporters - making us the largest gun violence prevention
advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition,
founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united mayors, gun violence survivors
and everyday Americans around these common goals: protecting
communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to
crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to
combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses
and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and
other dangerous people to get guns. The group recently joined forces
with Moms Demand Action, the leading grassroots movement of American
mothers working to prevent gun violence. Learn more
at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org or on Twitter @DemandAction.
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 one year, the
organization has more than 150,000 members with a chapter in every
state in the country. The group recently joined forces with Mayors
Against Illegal Guns, the largest gun violence prevention organization
in the country. For more information or to get involved visit
www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter @MomsDemand.
CONTACT:
Erika Soto Lamb: erika@maig.org or 646-580-5281 Stacey Radnor:
sradnor@maig.org or 202-870-6668
SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
in America
-0- 04/13/2014
/Web Site: http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org
CO: Mayors Against Illegal Guns; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
ST: New York Kansas
SU: POL AVO REL NPT
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