Win Without War activists from around the country fund a mobile billboard to ‘ruin the gun lobby’s party.’
WASHINGTON — Win Without War Executive Director Sara Haghdoosti released the following statement regarding the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24:
“This week in Uvalde, Texas, families sent their kids to school, teachers went to work — and didn’t come home because of a horrific mass shooting. Another community has witnessed a shocking level of violence that will stay with them for the rest of their lives in a place where they should have been safe. We can’t begin to imagine the pain and horror of the families impacted — our thoughts are with them and we hope that with our actions we can push for justice.
“That’s why our activists from around the country have a clear message for the gun lobby: Enough. That’s why today, as the gun lobby gets ready for a ‘Freedom filled weekend for the entire family’ less than 100 miles from Uvalde, we will be driving around a billboard to remind the gun lobby and the politicians who support it that we have not forgotten the families impacted by gun violence.
“Mass shootings are not inevitable and prioritizing the profits of corporations that are built on weapons over the safety of children is a policy choice. Gun manufacturers take pride of place in U.S. policy as key parts of a ‘defense industrial base’ that supposedly provides security, even as their products kill children, teachers, people shopping for groceries, our friends and neighbors and relatives at home and around the world, at astonishing rates. This vision of security that sacrifices people for profit and power is a dangerous mirage. In reality, gun control is security. Ending wars is security. Ensuring that no corporation profits off of violence is security.
“Weapons of war — bombs, drones, assault rifles — don’t make our, or any, communities safer. In fact this week’s mass school shooting is just one more reminder that even children are left unprotected by our current ‘national security’ strategy.
Enough. It’s time for change, action and accountability.
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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.
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