Matthew McConaughey

Eleven-year-old Uvalde survivor Miah Cerrillo testified before Congress yesterday that she smeared her dead friend's blood all over her body and played dead in order to survive.

Dear MoveOn member,

Eleven-year-old Uvalde survivor Miah Cerrillo testified before Congress yesterday that she smeared her dead friend's blood all over her body and played dead in order to survive.¹

But when Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, whom Mitch McConnell tasked as the lead Republican negotiator on any Senate response to the Uvalde and Buffalo massacres, was asked if the Senate would finally pass gun safety legislation, he responded: "not gonna happen."²

Sen. Cornyn, of course, is supposed to represent the Uvalde families.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a terror threat bulletin warning that white supremacists and other violent, right-wing conspiracy theorists have been encouraging young men to copycat the Uvalde massacre.³

Andra, our communities will not be safe until we pass commonsense gun laws. But the GOP is utterly unwilling. They have made that clear. They are unmoved by 19 students and two teachers being slaughtered in their classrooms or an 11-year-old girl having to smear her friend's blood all over her to survive a day at school.

The only way forward is to defeat the GOP at the ballot box and elect leaders who will protect our communities, get weapons of war off our streets, and pass commonsense gun laws.

MoveOn is investing $30 million in the largest midterm election campaign in our history to do just that, but our resources come from you, our members. Will you chip in $3 now to make it possible?

Kimberly and Felix Rubio, who lost their daughter, Lexi, in the Uvalde massacre, testified before Congress yesterday that Lexi dreamed about getting a degree in math and attending law school. Ms. Rubio told Congress, "That opportunity was taken from her; she was taken from us."⁴

She continued, "[T]o some people, to people with money, the people who fund political campaigns ... guns are more important than children."⁵

She is exactly right, Andra. And that's what we need to change by defeating Republicans at the ballot box this November and electing strong Democratic majorities who will put children and communities first—always.

Even though MoveOn has millions of members like you, Andra, our staff is small, and finding the resources to keep these programs running is difficult without your support. Will you chip in $3 now?

Actor Matthew McConaughey, an Uvalde native, joined the White House briefing on Tuesday. He showed the green high-top Converse sneakers worn every day by 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who had drawn a heart on the right toe of her shoe. Those green Converse were the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting, because the high-powered AR-15 disfigured many of the children's bodies beyond recognition.⁶

McConaughey said that we need to make "the loss of these lives matter" and called for expanded background checks on gun buyers, new "red flag" laws, and additional restrictions on the purchase of AR-15s.⁷

But the GOP says it's "not gonna happen."⁸

Andra, it's up to us to vote them out. Together, we're more powerful than the GOP and the NRA. But only if we come together and fight like the children of Uvalde matter.

Please, chip in $3 now to help defeat the GOP this November and elect leaders who will pass commonsense gun laws.

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Seth, Kelly, Allison, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Miah Cerrillo, 11, who hid from the Uvalde gunman, says students must 'have security.'" The New York Times, June 8, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163351?t=5&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

2. "Sen. Chris Murphy 'more confident than ever' Congress can reach deal on gun laws but anxious about failure," CNN, June 5, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163327?t=7&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

3. "DHS terror threat bulletin warns online forums are encouraging copycat Uvalde attacks," CBS News, June 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163352?t=9&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

4. "Uvalde Voices Plead With Congress for Action on Gun Control," The New York Times, June 8, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163353?t=11&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

5. Ibid.

6. "Matthew McConaughey Meets Biden and Pleads for an End to Gun Violence," The New York Times, June 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163354?t=13&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

7. Ibid.

8. "Sen. Chris Murphy 'more confident than ever' Congress can reach deal on gun laws but anxious about failure," CNN, June 5, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163327?t=15&akid=325232%2E53570607%2E3FH2wh

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