"Dear Mr. President ..."

Ed Bacon writes to urge President Obama to turn this national moment of mourning over the shootings in Newtown into a national movement for gun safety.

To add your name, email the Peace & Justice Department at All Saints Church.

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President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. President

On behalf of this community of faith, I want to express my deep gratitude for your strong expression of support for urgent action in the face of yet another horrific mass shooting in our nation. Parishioners join me in letting you know that you have our full support as you provide leadership in enacting measures that will help prevent these kinds of mass shootings, as well as the tragic loss of lives of no less than 32 men, women and children in our country every day.

While we still grapple with identifying a comprehensive and holistic response to the Newtown tragedy and others like it, including the need for more effective mental health and wellness programs in our communities, there are some immediate and necessary steps that we need to take regarding gun safety.

I strongly support the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban that Senator Feinstein has said that she will introduce at the beginning of the new session of Congress. I support as well legislation that would require background checks on every gun purchase, including those at gun shows, and limiting the size of ammunition clips. As part of our continued commitment to this issue we will be mobilizing our parishioners, who live in as many as twenty different Congressional districts, to contact their Representatives to urge them to support new gun control legislation.

Early in our faith history the assembled people hear God speaking these words through Moses: “I set before you life and death, blessing or curse. Choose life, that you and your descendents may live.” We and our elected officials have that same choice today and must act with courage and the resolute determination that this epidemic of gun violence requires. As we in our faith tradition await the celebration of the birth of Jesus where the angels sang of their vision of peace on earth, we commit this parish to the task of making this a peaceful, safe and secure world for every cherished child of God.

Sincerely,
The Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Jr.
Rector

cc: Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker John Boehner, Senator Dianne Feinstein