[mpen-dayton4] FW: "In Jail & In Debt: Ohio's Pay-to-Stay Fees" & What's happening at the University of Missouri ..." & "How the West Re-colonized China" & "Reality Check" and more

FYI.    Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
P.P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

·         FW: In Jail & In Debt: Ohio's Pay-to-Stay Fees

·         FW: What's happening at the University of Missouri should be a warning for all colleges

·         FW: Elizabeth Warren's SAVE Benefits Act

·         FW: Full Text of TPP, Including Annexes, and Boy is it Nasty

·         FW: Is your retirement account fueling secret election spending?

·         FW: Signature needed: Executive order to make Election Day a federal holiday

·         FW: Get covered, avoid the fee

·         FW: Appalling. Disgusting. Scandalous.

·         FW: "How the West Re-colonized China"

·         FW: Why Didn't Higher Education Protect Hispanic and Black Wealth? - The Federal Reserve Bank

·         FW: Tell Congress: end the ban on gun research

·         FW: This could be the moment on guns

·         FW: Human Rights Era is NOW

·         FW: Reality Check: robertreich.org

·         FW: The beginning of the end of the NRA

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ACLU of Ohio [mailto:contact@acluohio.org]
Subject: In Jail & In Debt: Ohio's Pay-to-Stay Fees

Did you know that if you are jailed at Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio for 180 days, you will receive a bill close to $12,000.00? And if you can't pay, they will send a collections agency after you.

Our new report, "In Jail & In Debt: Ohio's Pay to Stay Fees," shows that pay-to-stay jail fees are the next generation of unending debts that tether low-income people to the criminal justice system. Charged to people during a stay in jail, these debts often follow them long after. In practice, they operate little different from a modern-day debtors' prison.

These insidious fees load formerly incarcerated people with increasing amounts of debt that make it nearly impossible for even the most well-meaning person to successfully reenter society. In addition to crippling debt, the inability to pay ends up on credit reports, damaging their ability to obtain gainful employment or housing.

We are calling on lawmakers to end this predatory practice. Local leaders need to do a better job at making sure that all Ohioans have a fair shot at working hard to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families.

Read the report today. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter or request an ACLU speaker to find out what you can do to build a fairer justice system in Ohio.

 

 

From: LinkedIn Pulse
Subject: What's happening at the University of Missouri should be a warning for all colleges

Why Tim Wolfe's resignation from the University of Missouri is a warning for all universities

 

 

From: Russ Feingold for Social Security Works
Subject: Elizabeth Warren's SAVE Benefits Act

When it comes to Social Security, politicians love to talk about keeping their promises to seniors on the campaign trail. But what matters is how they act once they're elected. In the end, do they work for people or for the special interests?

Yet, the federal government just announced that there will be no cost of living adjustment for those receiving Social Security benefits in 2016.

But my friend Elizabeth Warren is fighting back -- with the Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act (SAVE Benefits Act), which will provide Social Security beneficiaries and veterans with a $580 one-time emergency payment in 2016 -- enough to cover three months of groceries or a year's worth of out-of-pocket prescription costs. I'm on board 100%, and I'm calling on Congress to step up and support the SAVE Benefits Act. Will you join me?

Stand with me and my friends at Social Security Works. Support the SAVE Benefits Act today.

My opponent, Senator Ron Johnson, has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and laments the program never being privatized (a fight we won together!). But everywhere I go in Wisconsin, I hear the exact opposite: Social Security is more important than ever, because people are worried they won't be able to save enough to live comfortably and independently in retirement, and they'll be forced to ask their children for support.

It's our job to fight for seniors and the SAVE Benefits Act. Because seniors' living costs are going up, not down.

In just one example, the cost-of-living adjustment heavily factors in low gasoline costs, which don't affect many seniors, while discounting increasing healthcare costs that certainly do. That's why it's vital we make sure Congress knows we're watching.

Stand with me and Social Security Works today. Sign on to Elizabeth Warren's SAVE Benefits Act.

 

 

From: Judy Burnette
Subject: Fw: Full Text of TPP, Including Annexes, and Boy is it Nasty

Full Text of TPP, Including Annexes, and Boy is it Nasty

As readers probably know, New Zealand put the full text of the TPP online yesterday. There were some technical issues in getting the docs (lots of subsections), no doubt in part due to the servers being accessed heavily. Reader Synoia has made all the TPP files available on Dropbox in PDF form, zippped (link here). Here's the directory of files in the zip, which as you can see, includes the...

Read More

 

 

From: Rio Tazewell; Government By the People Campaign Coordinator, People For the American Way
Subject: Is your retirement account fueling secret election spending?

Send a message to Vanguard now.

Corporations are already channeling unprecedented amounts of secret money into the 2016 elections. Even worse, they're doing it with our retirement savings.

As the largest manager of retirement savings in the country, Vanguard has the power -- and the obligation -- to combat Citizens United politics and special interest influence in our elections.

Tell Vanguard: Keep our retirement savings out of secret money politics>>

We're happy to join allies in the democracy movement in opening up this innovative new approach to reining in secret big money.

Here's how it works.

Investments from 401(k) retirement funds such as those managed by Vanguard are the lifeblood of every corporation on the stock market. Mutual funds' shareholder status gives them an important say in whether or not corporations disclose their political spending.

For years, shareholders have filed hundreds of resolutions pushing corporations to disclose their political spending. While many mutual funds routinely vote in support of these measures, Vanguard does not. And that needs to change.

Send a message to Vanguard now to keep our retirement savings out of secret money politics>>

 

 

From: Paul Hogarth; Daily Kos
Subject: Signature needed: Executive order to make Election Day a federal holiday

Sign the petition by Daily Kos and allies urging that President Obama make Election Day 2016 a federal holiday. Click here to sign.

Our democracy is in crisis, with voter turnout at an abysmal low. And with the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2013, things are only getting worse.

But there is one simple thing President Obama can do: He can sign an executive order to make Election Day 2016 a federal holiday, like it already is in so many other countries.

Sign the petition by Daily Kos and other allies in demanding that we make Election Day a federal holiday.

 

 

From: HealthCare.gov Alerts
Subject: Get covered, avoid the fee

Get covered, avoid the fee

If you don't have health coverage in 2016, you may face a fee.

Going without coverage in 2016 could cost you $695 or more. Find the best plan that works for you and avoid the fee.

Health insurance may be more affordable than you think. 8 out of 10 people who enrolled in a health plan at HealthCare.gov qualified for financial help to make their monthly payments more affordable. In fact, most people can find monthly premiums for $75 dollars or less per month. Having health insurance is the law. If you choose to go without health insurance coverage in 2016 you may have to pay a fee when you file your 2016 taxes.

Visit HealthCare.gov today to submit your 2016 application and see if you qualify for savings.



Important: The fee for not having health insurance is increasing. If you don't have health coverage in 2016, you'll risk having to pay $695 per person or more for the year.

Don't miss your chance to get covered. The December 15 deadline is coming up.
The HealthCare.gov Team

 

 

From: Paul, along with Annie, Eddie, Emma, Kelsey, Laura, Lindsay, Moonyoung, Scottie, and Tim (the Courage team), Courage Campaign
Subject: Appalling. Disgusting. Scandalous.

It costs Americans $16 billion a year. And it contributes to nearly one in five Americans not filling needed prescriptions.(1)

"It" is a 2003 law -- passed by Big Pharma's friends in Congress -- that actually prohibits Medicare from negotiating drug prices for the 52 million Americans in the program.

Sign the petition with our partners at Public Citizen demanding that Congress allow Medicare to negotiate fair drug prices.

Price-gouging and patent monopolies are behind Big Pharma's obscene profits. Even so, with its vast purchasing power, Medicare should be able to negotiate lower prices -- much lower.

But Medicare's hands are tied by the 2003 law that the pharmaceutical industry and its legion of lobbyists in D.C. rammed through Congress.

So our nation's seniors pay at least $16 billion more per year than they would if Medicare could negotiate fair prices with the drug companies.(2) And many simply go without medications they need, while already rich pharmaceutical corporations get even richer.

This is not what America is supposed to be.

Add your name today with Courage Campaign and our friends at Public Citizen: Tell Congress to let Medicare negotiate with Big Pharma.

The VA and Medicaid already have the ability to negotiate with the drug companies (which still make a tidy profit, by the way).

So why shouldn't Medicare -- which serves one out of every six Americans -- be able to use this tool to fight Big Pharma's price-gouging?

Appalling. Disgusting. Scandalous.

Choose your adjective.

But we can't let this continue.

Take action NOW so that Medicare can negotiate with the drug companies.

1. http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/2216?t=5&akid=2266.790590.93Jrud
2. http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/2216?t=7&akid=2266.790590.93Jrud

Like what we do? Chip in to help fund the fight for a more progressive nation. Or find us on Facebook or Twitter.



Courage Campaign fights for a more progressive California and country. We are an online community powered by more than 1,000,000 members.
http://www.couragecampaign.org?akid=2266.790590.93Jrud

 

 

From: Judy Burnette
Subject: FW: "How the West Re-colonized China"

How the West Re-colonized China

by GlobalResearchTV

The "Chinese dragon" of the last two decades may be faltering but it is still hailed by many as an economic miracle. Far from a great advance for Chinese workers, however, it is the direct result of a consolidation of power in the hands of a small clique of powerful families, families that have actively collaborated with Western financial oligarchs.

This is the GRTV Backgrounder on Global Research TV.

 

 

From: khalfani718
Subject: Why Didn't Higher Education Protect Hispanic and Black Wealth? - The Federal Reserve Bank

Last week, the mainstream media (MSM) publicised the plight of the white middle class (increasing morbidity & mortality, principally from depression and drug abuse). Almost simultaneously, initiatives were announced to address the problem (and imprisionment was not featured).

Three interesting and important pieces to read in this posting. These stories seem NOT to have garnered the same level of attention in the MSM, even though the data was generated in a report authorized by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Number One:
"Why Didn't Higher Education Protect Hispanic and Black Wealth?" was published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, MO in the August 2015 issue of IN THE BALANCE. Its authors are William Emmons & Bryan Noeth.

It purports what many people of color have long understood;
1. Racism affects people at all levels of education and
2. Higher education alone is not enough to "level the playing field".

https://www.stlouisfed.org/~/media/Publications/In%20the%20Balance/Images/Issue_12/ITB_August_2015.pdf

William R. Emmons is senior economic adviser at the Center for House- hold Financial Stability at Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Bryan J. Noeth is a lead policy analyst at the Center.

Number Two:
This link below leads to a videoclip from a conference at USC (Univ. of Southern California) moderated by Robert Scheer, discussiing the explosive Federal Reserve Bank study (link provided above) showing that racial inequality pervades American society at all levels of education—despite hopes to the contrary.

The panel features Michelle Turner, executive director of the USC Black Alumni Association; George Sanchez, USC's vice dean for diversity and strategic initiatives; Camille Grear Rich, USC professor of law and sociology; and Mark Lloyd, director of the New America Foundation's media policy initiative.

https://youtu.be/HsxzgvUpLRg

Number Three:
The column (below) from the blog TRUTHDIG reviews some of this data and comments upon it further. It is essentially an "economic autopsy" which reveals some of the factors killing economic advancement in the last 20 + years.
   

Truthdiggers of the Week: 2 Economists Who Challenged an American Myth

Posted on Oct 25, 2015, By Natasha Hakimi

Every week the Truthdig editorial staff selects a Truthdigger of the Week, a group or person worthy of recognition for speaking truth to power, breaking the story or blowing the whistle. It is not a lifetime achievement award. Rather, we're looking for newsmakers whose actions in a given week are worth celebrating.

I grew up in an immigrant household, and my parents made one thing very clear to me at an early age: You must go to four-year college, because if you do, your life will be better than ours was.
I can't imagine showing my parents—who are immensely proud that all three of their children are currently pursuing advanced degrees—the results of the jaw-dropping study published by William Emmons and Bryan Noeth at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in August. The report, which came to my attention this week, is titled "Why Didn't Higher Education Protect Hispanic and Black Wealth?" It dispels one of the essential myths of the American dream: that pursuing an advanced degree leads to better job opportunities and higher chances of wealth accumulation, no matter one's race.

Analyzing two decades of data, Emmons and Noeth showed that although a college degree does seem to guarantee higher earnings compared with noncollege-educated counterparts of the same race, the disparities among racial groups are astounding. Imagine my surprise to read that, on average, Hispanic and black college grads held roughly one-tenth of the median family net worth of a white college grad family in 2013. Families headed by white college grads had a median net worth of $359,928, while the net worth of their Hispanic and black counterparts was $49,606 and $32,780, respectively.
These numbers are not only shocking, they're appalling, and the report only gets more depressing.

Perhaps the most important part of Emmons and Noeth's study has to do with how minority families fared during the Great Recession, compared with their white and Asian counterparts. It turns out that—due to a number of factors the researchers determined need to be studied further—while holding a four-year degree results in higher incomes for minorities, their average wealth is lower than that of an only slightly educated white. As William Darity Jr., a public policy professor at Duke University, puts it, "a family headed by a black college graduate has less wealth on average than a family headed by a white high school dropout."

Take a look at the following charts and the explanation offered by the St. Louis Fed researchers:

Figure 1 compares the changes in median wealth between 2007 and 2013 among families headed by four-year college graduates versus those with less education. White and Asian college-headed families generally fared much better than their less-educated counterparts. The typical Hispanic and black college-headed family, on the other hand, lost much more wealth than its less-educated counterpart. Median wealth declined by about 72 percent among Hispanic college-grad families versus a decline of only 41 percent among Hispanic families without a college degree. Among blacks, the declines were 60 percent versus 37 percent.

... Income trends are important in the longer term. College graduates typically accumulate much more wealth over long periods than do those without a college degree. The median wealth among all college graduates increased by 52 percent between 1992 and 2013, while the median wealth among all non-college grads declined by 26 percent. As Figure 4 shows, higher education was strongly associated with greater wealth accumulation among whites and Asians, while a college degree was associated with a much worse wealth trend by a typical Hispanic or black family.

Figure 5 suggests that adverse long-term income trends among Hispanic and black college grads may be an important factor. The median income of college-grad white families grew by 13 percentage points more than their non-college counterparts. The median income of college-grad Asian families grew 31 percent, while the median income of their non-college counterparts fell 9 percent over the same period.
Conversely, median Hispanic and black college-grad incomes fell 10 percent and 12 percent, respectively, while the median incomes of their non-college counterparts rose 16 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

In a New York Times piece, economics writer Patricia Cohen outlines some of the factorsthat may contribute to the disparity. One of the most important seems to be how minorities invested their money before the recession and their debt-to-income ratios. For example, blacks and Hispanics seem to have placed more of their wealth in houses, while whites and Asians invested in retirement funds. While it's easy to chalk this up to "financial decision-making," let's not forget that subprime mortgage lenders disproportionately targeted minorities.
Job discrimination also played an important role in these statistics. Studies have shown that when nearly identical résumés are submitted, employers tend to favor applicants with white-sounding names. Cohen notes that blacks hold more government jobs than their white counterparts and that these jobs tend to pay them less than what those whites are making. In addition, he finds that blacks and Latinos who hold advanced degrees "are more often in lower-paying fields or graduates of colleges with lesser reputations." This translates into less ability to save, as well as lower lifetime earnings, according to John Schmitt, a research director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

According to Darity, yet another important factor is that "prior family wealth is the key [since it] shapes both income-generating opportunities and the capacity to allow wealth to grow more wealth." In other words, wealthier families, which tend to be white or Asian, often provide a safety net for their children—helping with tuition payments and down payments on mortgages, for example. For minority families, whose average wealth is significantly lower, dependence on family wealth is seldom possible.
At a time when income inequality has become one of the most important issues Americans face, it is essential to note how race factors into the wealth gap. The bold, italicized statement at the end of the three-page St. Louis Fed study spells out the stunning truth about racial disparities in family wealth: "Higher education alone cannot level the playing field."

The numbers in Emmons and Noeth's study provide clear evidence that racism is systemic and that, sadly, education seems to do little to counter it. For their scholarship and their courage in taking on the myth that higher education creates equal opportunities for Americans regardless of race, William Emmons and Bryan Noeth are our Truthdiggers of the Week.

 

 

From: Nina Agrawal MD, Doctors for America
Subject: Tell Congress: end the ban on gun research

As physicians, we are outraged that this Nation continues to lose innocent lives from daily gun violence. Despite Sandy Hook and the continued tragedies since then, more than 89 Americans continue to die every day from gun violence.

You would be shocked to know that nearly 20 years ago Congress, under intense pressure from the gun lobby, passed a law blocking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) from carrying out the necessary research to better understand how to prevent gun violence.

Most recently, in June 2015, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to maintain this funding ban. The result: a significant source of funding for evidence-based, scientific research into the causes of gun violence was blocked entirely, and a signal was sent to the entire scientific funding community that chilled almost all other outside research into this critical issue.

It's time to end the ban on CDC and NIH research so we can find solutions to the gun violence crisis.

Federal scientific data has driven policy to save lives from motor vehicle accidents, sudden infant death syndrome, lead poisoning, and countless other public health crises.  It's time to do the same with gun violence.

Add your name to #EndTheBan on gun violence research.

Physicians must stand together to tell Congress to remove these barriers to common sense evidence-based research and include funding annually to look into the causes of gun violence. I hope you will join us.

Nina Agrawal, MD  &  David Berman, DO
rs. Agrawal and Berman are pediatricians and leaders of the DFA gun violence prevention campaign.

 

From: Jo, Jayne, Emily, Ben O., and the rest of the team, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Subject: This could be the moment on guns


s.          There have been 159 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre—an average of nearly one shooting every single week—with the latest yesterday at Lecanto High School in Florida.¹ And still, Congress has done nothing.

But President Obama may not wait for Congress to act. He's considering an executive action to close a major loophole in our gun laws.

So this Friday, we're joining with other organizations for a National Day of Action to urge President Obama to take bold action on guns now.

Will you join our social media campaign for the National Day of Action by signing up to share our call to action via Twitter to help spread the word and flood the White House with phone calls?

Just click here now to join the Thunderclap, a tool that combines the power of thousands Twitter accounts into a single powerful message.

Here's how it will work: We're partnering with Thunderclap, which empowers a community of activists to share a single message at a specific time. By signing up, you're allowing Thunderclap to post a message to your followers on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Tumblr at the same time as hundreds of others—allowing us to reach hundreds of thousands of people in a single moment.

If you join us, Thunderclap will post this message for you at 2 p.m. ET on Friday: "Call #WhiteHouse: 202-456-1111 & tell President #Obama #YesHeCan on #gun action." It will take less than a minute of your time to set up—and it's an effective way to amplify our voices and generate thousands of calls to the president to act boldly now to curb the epidemic of gun violence.

Please join the Thunderclap now to help make progress on gun violence possible.

President Obama has the power to close the loophole that allows criminals to buy guns without background checks from unlicensed, high-volume gun sellers at gun shows and over the Internet—and he's deciding right now whether to act.²

Each year, countless numbers of guns are sold online and at gun shows without background checks. Nearly a quarter of a million gun sales originate from just Armslist.com alone—a single website.³

But the National Rifle Association is doing everything it can to stop President Obama, even promoting messages that threaten "civil war" with Democrats if he moves forward.⁴

Click here to join our Thunderclap, so together we can enable President Obama to act boldly on guns.

Sources:
   

1.     "159 School Shootings In America Since 2013," Everytown for Gun Safety, accessed November 10, 2015
http://everytownresearch.org/school-shootings/2982/

2.     "Executive Action to Strengthen Background Checks by Addressing High-Volume Gun Sellers," Center for American Progress, October 15, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307879&id=134978-1195276-WZDY5nx&t=4

3.     "Beyond Gridlock: How White House Action on Gun Violence Can Save Lives," Everytown for Gun Safety, October 5, 2015
https://everytownresearch.org/reports/beyond-gridlock/

4.     "The NRA Is Promoting An Article Suggesting 'Radical' Democrats Will Be Hanged After Starting A Civil War Over Gun Rights," Media Matters, October 21, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307890&id=134978-1195276-WZDY5nx&t=5

Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.

 

 

From: School To Prison Pipeline On Behalf Of Prof. Vernellia Randall
Subject: [SchooltoPrisonPipeline] Human Rights Era is NOW

VIA Shuan King

" Listen, I need you to understand what I'm about to say. This is what I taught the students at Morehouse last week.

2015 is not what we thought it was. The deadliest hate crime against Black folk in the past 75 years happened THIS YEAR in Charleston.

More unarmed Black folk have been killed by police THIS YEAR than were lynched in any year since 1923.

Never, in the history of modern America, have we seen Black students in elementary, middle, and high school handcuffed and assaulted by police IN SCHOOL like we have seen this year.

Black students, who pay tuition are leaving the University of Missouri campus right now because of active death threats against their lives.

If you EVER wondered who you would be or what you would do if you lived during the Civil Rights Movement, stop. You are living in that time, RIGHT NOW." Via Shaun King

 

 

From: khalfani718
Subject: Reality Check: robertreich.org

http://robertreich.org/post/132611993925

Reality Check

The other night I phoned a former Republican member of Congress with whom I'd worked in the 1990s on various pieces of legislation. I consider him a friend. I wanted his take on the Republican candidates because I felt I needed a reality check. Was I becoming excessively crotchety and partisan, or are these people really as weird as they seem? We got right into it:

Me: "So what do really you think of these candidates?"

Him: "You want my unvarnished opinion?"

Me: "Please. That's why I called."

Him: "They're all nuts."

Me: "Seriously. What do you really think of them?"

Him: "I just told you. They're bonkers. Bizarre. They're like a Star Wars bar room."

Me: "How did it happen? How did your party manage to come up with this collection?"

Him: "We didn't. They came up with themselves. There's no party any more. It's chaos. Anybody can just decide they want to be the Republican nominee, and make a run for it. Carson? Trump? They're in the lead and they're both out of their f*cking minds."

Me: "That's not reassuring."

Him: "It's a disaster. I'm telling you, if either of them is elected, this country is going to hell. The rest of them aren't much better. I mean, Carly Fiorina? Really? Rubio? Please. Ted Cruz? Oh my god. And the people we thought had it sewn up, who are halfway sane – Bush and Christie – they're sounding almost as batty as the rest."

Me: "Who's to blame for this mess?"

Him: "Roger Ailes, David and Charles Koch, Rupert Murdoch, Rush Limbaugh. I could go on. They've poisoned the American mind and destroyed the Republican Party.

Me: "Nice talking with you."

Him: "Sleep well."

 

 

From: Jo, Manny, Erica, Brian, and the rest of the team, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Subject: The beginning of the end of the NRA

We've developed a breakthrough strategy to destroy the National Rifle Association's credibility in Washington: gun owners committed to fighting for gun control.

You see, the truth is that only a tiny minority of gun owners actually belong to the NRA—and most of them don't even agree with it.¹ If the silent majority of gun owners who support gun control speak out, they'll blow the NRA's cover, so we can finally take action to prevent gun violence and save lives—including by helping President Obama issue an executive order this month to close the background check loophole.²

Here's our plan: After the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon last month, MoveOn launched Gun Owners for Gun Control, which now has 32,260 members. Next week, we're bringing 15 of them—thoughtful, experienced, and responsible gun owners, including former NRA members—to Washington, D.C., for meetings with the White House, members of Congress, and the media.

But we still need to raise the money to cover the cost of the gun owner delegation, to take the message they deliver in D.C. and get it out across the country, and then to continue organizing this incredibly powerful group of MoveOn members. Can you chip in to help responsible gun owners stand up to the NRA? 

Because you've saved your payment information with MoveOn, your donation will go straight through.

Express Donate: $10
Express Donate: $40
Express Donate: $150

Donate another amount

The NRA says it has 5 million dues-paying members, which may be inflated but still is just between 6 and 7 percent of U.S. gun owners.³ And even many NRA members disagree with the organization on policy. For instance, the NRA opposes requiring background checks for private and gun show sales—the policy President Obama could issue in just a few weeks if he has enough backing—but 74 percent of NRA members support it.⁴

Starting next week, gun owners who support gun control will no longer be a silent majority—because we're helping them speak out in Washington. This has the potential to be a breakthrough moment if we have the resources to elevate their voices.

Can you chip in now to help stand up to the NRA?

Because you've saved your payment information with MoveOn, your donation will go straight through.

Express Donate: $10
Express Donate: $40
Express Donate: $150

Donate another amount

David T. from Georgia is one of the 15 gun owners traveling to Washington, D.C., next week. He knows guns. David is a retired Army officer and a two-time All American in rifle shooting. He was a member of the NRA for more than 10 years but resigned his membership "when their agenda turned from promoting gun safety and responsible ownership to one of uncompromising opposition to any kind of gun control."

Rick M. lives in rural Oregon just 20 miles from Thurston High School and about an hour from Umpqua Community College, both sites of horrific mass shootings. He has long owned guns, has a concealed weapons permit, and believes strongly in both his right to own a gun and the need to stop the proliferation of easy access to guns.

These gun owners are ready to speak out—and powerfully so. Will you support them by chipping in or whatever you can?

Because you've saved your payment information with MoveOn, your donation will go straight through.

Express Donate: $10
Express Donate: $40
Express Donate: $150

Donate another amount

Sources:

1.     "Most gun owners support restrictions. Why aren't their voices heard?" The Washington Post, October 9, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308148&id=135021-1195276-21LqRax&t=1

2.     "Obama weighs expanding background checks through executive authority," The Washington Post, October 8, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307878&id=135021-1195276-21LqRax&t=2

3.     "Most gun owners don't belong to the NRA—and they don't agree with it either," The Washington Post, October 15, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=308149&id=135021-1195276-21LqRax&t=3

4. Ibid.

Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.

 

End of MPEN e-Newsletter