#SupportTheBill

[ivygorgon]

An open letter to the U.S. Congress

Pass the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (H.R 5003/S. 2638)!

783 so far! Help us get to 1,000 signers!

Every 11 minutes, someone’s life is lost to gun violence in the United States. In an average year, this public health crisis claims more than 40,000 lives and wounds twice as many. For the lives lost and the loved ones left behind, there is no way to capture the true cost of this epidemic, but every year, the United States chooses to spend $557 billion on the consequences of gun violence rather than stopping it before it happens. Gun violence is not normal, and Americans do not need to accept it as such. We have the tools, strategies, and people to prevent these daily tragedies, but for too long, the federal government has dramatically underspent on proven community-based programs that address the root causes of gun violence, while allocating billions of dollars to reactive interventions that have historically failed to keep Americans safe. The status quo isn’t working. That’s why we need the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (H.R 5003/S. 2638). The Break the Cycle of Violence Act would provide $5 billion in federal grants for community violence intervention programs and $1.5 billion in workforce initiatives that are proven to reduce gun violence. These programs make communities safer by investing directly in the people and communities most affected to stop gun violence before it happens. Grants funded by the Break the Cycle of Violence Act will support local programs that use proven strategies to reduce community violence without contributing to mass incarceration. Communities that have invested in these interventions have seen reductions in gun homicides by as much as 60 percent, saving taxpayers up to $41 in emergency services for each dollar spent. These much-needed resources will also expand economic opportunity to communities grappling with trauma, systemic neglect, divestment, and long-standing hardships.

▶ Created on January 26 by Jess Craven

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[support-the-bill-blog]

The bill of rights was designed by myself and the other founders in order to protect the rights of all people and to prevent a government that dictates the people. The rights that are protected are the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. America is the land of the free, we are a mixing pot of many cultures and each of these freedoms are important characteristics that make up each person.

Each freedom is important to us because Great Britain denied the colonies each of these rights. The freedom of religion is important to us founders because many of the people that make up the United States population came here specifically for the freedom to practice their religion. Great Britain has an official religion that many of us could not support and had to migrate away as a result. The freedom of speech and press are important because they allow for the public to share information and be well informed without worrying that they are being lied to by the government. Great Britain prevented the people of the colonies from criticizing the crown. The freedom of assembly and petition allow the people to request change. Great Britain tried to suppress the people’s opinions by denying our right to print propaganda or collectively protest resulting in colonist’s deaths. As a result of Britain’s preventing of things that should be rights given to all people, we created this doctrine to protect the rights we were denied to ensure a government like Great Britain never rules the United States again.

-Washington