Mobilize in March for Dreamers

Senators will be in their home districts March 16-20. This is an important opportunity for you to visit with your Senator and talk to him or her about protecting DACA recipients.

On November 12, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments on the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and is expected to issue a ruling on the legality of the DACA program in late April-June.

The Catholic Bishops continue to express their support for Dreamers and sent letters to the House and Senate supporting legislation to protect these young people from deportation and family separation.

• Please use these talking points to plan what you say to your Senator. You can also print and leave behind this  DACA backgrounder in your own meetings.
• Need help on how to set up a meeting? Click on this link for “How to Set Up an In-District Meeting with your Lawmaker.“

Support a “National Bureau for Gun Safety”

The Justice Conference of Women Religious is calling for a National Bureau for Gun Safety that would lead a campaign to reduce gun deaths based on proven public health practice.  Please consider signing the petition provided calling on Congress to create this important bureau.

There is a successful precedent for this action. In 1966, faced with rapidly rising motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths on our roads, the National Highway Safety Bureau (NHSB) was created to promote and implement safety technology and practices, such as seat belt use, as well as to support research into causes and contributing factors. This approach has been credited with reducing motor vehicle mortality by two-thirds over the subsequent thirty years.

Now, we must direct this strategy towards one of the deadliest threats we face today, preventing deaths at the hands of gun violence. Gun violence kills 40,000+ people a year. In the wake of shooting after shooting, we’ve got to figure out the root causes and how to prevent the next tragedy before it happens.

The National Bureau for Gun Safety (NBGS)’s mission would be to lead and coordinate a multidisciplinary, multifaceted campaign to reduce gun deaths based on proven public-health practice. NBGS would be run by experts in public health, medicine, engineering, communications and law enforcement, and:

• Be transparent and nonpartisan;
• Take the lead in setting the nation’s research agenda and developing, testing and implementing safety technologies;
• Set out legislative priorities for saving lives;
• Oversee campaigns to encourage behaviors likely to reduce gun injuries and;
• Direct priorities for enforcing gun laws, in concert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Sign the petition: Congress must establish the NBGS to reduce gun deaths. Click HERE to sign.