Turning Grief into Action: Parent’s Crusade Against Gun Lobby After Their Daughter Was Killed In A Mass Shooting

Change doesn’t come easy…

… especially when there are big corporations make a fortune selling guns and have rigged the system with political donations. This blog is about Sandy and Lonnie Phillips who turned their agony into purpose after their daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed in a mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado in 2012. I joined them as they canvassed Senators in DC for common sense gun reform. Did you know?

An average of 321 people are shot and 111 die every day in America according to Brady United.
Gun manufacturers have legal immunity from being sued for crimes committed with the weapons or ammunition they sell.
MAGA politicians like Lindsey Graham complain about social media killing children but are silent about mass shootings that kill many, many more innocent lives.
Two dozen sitting Republican senators have received contributions from the NRA. 16 have received more than $1 million.
US gun violence in America kills 40,000 people, wounds twice as many, and has an economic consequence to our nation of $557 billion.

The human cost we pay for political greed

“I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift.” – Jessica Redfield Ghawi (7 weeks before she was killed)

Sandy’s cry

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA)

“Republicans passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) that codified legally that the gun manufacturing industry could not be held liable in civil court for crimes “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of firearms or ammunition… “the gun industry and gun sellers are the only business in America that is totally free of liability for their behavior.” – Snopes

“45,034 people died by gunfire, while 42,915 died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. While these numbers may seem comparable, they’re more lopsided than you might realize, since car owners far outnumber gun owners: There are an estimated 234.9 million licensed drivers—and only 81.4 million gun owners.” You can sue a car maker. You cannot sue a gun maker.

Republican hypocrisy on gun violence

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told major tech CEOS they have “blood on their hands. Mr Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands, you have a product that’s killing people.”

Lindsey Graham spoke in the Senate Judiciary Committee about his concerns with gun control. Graham got $55,961 in political donations from the gun lobby in 2022.

What is blood money? Money obtained at the cost of another’s life. – Mirriam-Webster dictionary

Money talks. Gun lobby money shouts.

About two dozen sitting Republican senators have received contributions from the NRA. Of those senators, 16 have received more than $1 million. Topping the list is Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who received more than $13 million in NRA contributions. The NRA money donated to Romney was raised by a number of social media users after Romney tweeted his condolences in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting.

Jemele Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, tweeted in response to Romney: “Grief does not overwhelm the soul nearly as much as $13M from the NRA overwhelms your bank account. The answer you seek is the money you continue to take.” – Newsweek

Survivors Empowered

Survivors Empowered helps families of those killed in mass shootings navigate the aftermath of what have become all too common tragedies. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization directly supporting and educating gun violence survivors, including the family and friends of shooting victims, as well as shooting survivors themselves.

Support Survivors Empowered

Learn more about gun violence

How many mass murders would occur without guns?
Finding Help: Tips for Survivors
Domestic Violence and Guns: Fighting the Lethal Combination
Get Guns out of Hospitals
Guns trigger more than half of nation’s suicides

TakeAway: Stop the gun lobby using blood money to rig the system to boost their profits. Vote for President Biden and Democrats to curb the carnage from senseless gun violence.

Deepak
DemLabs

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Parents crusade against gun lobby after their daughter was killed in mass shooting