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Every day for the past five years, Sandy Hook Promise has been doing everything we possibly can to prevent more tragedies like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Now, students across the country are stepping up to power a new surge of momentum for meaningful change. They're not just demanding adults take action to protect them from gun violence – they're eager to lead efforts to prevent tragedies from happening in their own schools and communities, too.

That's why we're working so hard to encourage more students to create SAVE Promise Clubs – where young people are empowered with the tools to help prevent gun violence and sustain efforts to make their schools and communities safer.

This is one very real way we can help prevent tragedies before they tear more communities apart, so please: Can we count on you to help bring a SAVE Promise Club to your local school and empower students to save lives?

Click this link to learn more about how to bring a SAVE Promise Club to your local school to empower students to help prevent gun violence and save lives in their communities.

https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/savepromiseclub

Students are seizing this moment to push for real change, and it's up to us to support them. By working together, I know we will prevent more tragedies from happening.

Paula Fynboh
National Field and Programs Director

P.S. Would you also forward this message to anyone you know who works in a school? The more people we can encourage to empower young people in their communities to make change, the more tragedies we can prevent and the more lives we can save from gun violence.

The response I got from Sen. Durbin:

Dear Mr. Kastigar:

Thank you for contacting me regarding gun violence and access to guns in our country. I appreciate hearing from you, and I share your concerns.

Over 30,000 Americans are killed by guns each year, and this violence takes a devastating toll on families and communities. I support sensible gun safety laws that will help reduce the number of gun deaths in America. I support measures such as universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, mentally unstable individuals, and domestic abusers. An overwhelming majority of Americans know this is just common sense. I also support efforts to crack down on illegal gun trafficking and straw purchasing, and to limit the civilian use of high-capacity ammunition magazines that have been used by mass shooters to cause enormous harm.

We can and must do more to keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse them, and we can do so while protecting the right of law-abiding citizens to use guns in a responsible and legal way for sport, hunting, and self-defense. My wife and I grew up in families of hunters. We know the rite of passage when a parent takes his child out into the woods and teaches him or her to shoot. The hunters I know are good people who love the sport and hate the people who use firearms to terrorize and kill.

(continued)

(continuation of response from Sen Durbin )

Gun violence is a complicated problem, and there is no one solution that will stop all the tragic shootings. Reducing this violence will require dedicated efforts by families, community leaders, law enforcement, employers, faith leaders, and elected officials to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands and to address the conditions which create violence. Unfortunately, in recent years common-sense legislation to prevent gun violence has been blocked in Congress by well-funded political organizations. But I’m not giving up. I will continue to work to ensure the federal government helps address violent crime in our communities.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator