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More Than 80 Survivors of Gun Violence Sign Letter Urging Florida Legislature to Pass Background Checks Law

11.4.2019

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, volunteers with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, delivered a letter signed by more than 80 survivors of gun violence to the Florida legislature.

Signed by survivors of the shootings at Pulse, Parkland, and survivors of the day to day gun violence that often doesn’t make the news, the letter urges Senate President Bill Galvano and House Speaker José Oliva to support a law requiring background checks on all gun sales.

“For survivors of gun violence, the gun safety conversation isn’t about politics or partisanship — it’s about honoring and recognizing all those whose lives have been forever changed by gun violence, and preventing any other family from feeling our pain,” said Betsy Dale Adams, member of the Everytown Survivor Network whose brother, Patrick, was shot and killed by a man who should have been prohibited from having a firearm. “We signed this letter to make sure that as Senate President Galvano, House Speaker Oliva and the legislature return to Tallahassee to find solutions to our gun violence crisis, they hear us loud and clear: We want background checks on every gun sale.”

The letter can be found here, and an excerpt is below:

“We are the 58% of Americans who have said they or someone they care for have experienced gun violence in their lifetime. We deserve to live in a state where we are all free from the fear of being shot. Instead, more than 2,500 Floridians are shot and killed every year — that’s about seven people every single day, each of them with families who are ripped apart by the loss of their loved one. That doesn’t even include those who are wounded and survive or are otherwise exposed to the devastating, long-lasting ripple effects of gun violence. As survivors of gun violence, we are asking our lawmakers to stand up for us and our loved ones by passing legislation requiring background checks on all gun sales.

Last year, our legislature came together under your leadership to pass landmark bipartisan legislation that established a red flag law in Florida, along with several other gun safety measures. That bill was passed with support from Floridians on both sides of the aisle. Now, it’s time to build on that legacy by charging the legislature to pass background checks on all gun sales.

We urge you to complete your unfinished business following the Parkland mass shooting and pass background checks legislation. Now is the time to act.”