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| Ceasefire Oregon |
Ceasefire Oregon extends our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and survivors of the mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado. To subject anyone to that horror is unconscionable. Today, our supporters are wearing red armbands to show our support and solidarity with those victims and with all victims of gun violence throughout the country.
James Holmes bought 6,000 rounds of ammunition by mail and unleashed some in a crowded theater in Aurora at the rate of 60 shots a minute, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others in a matter of minutes. With his assault weapon he used a 100-round magazine. We are sure that the survivors appreciate President Obama’s prayers and sympathy. But he needs to do more.
The sole purpose of assault weapons is to kill as many people as possible very quickly. The Tucson shooter was tackled when he stopped to reload; Holmes fired his assault weapon until the magazine jammed. Anyone who thinks that armed citizens firing their own weapons at Holmes’s battle armor in the darkened, smoke-filled theater full of panic would have saved lives just isn’t thinking straight.
Right now, in this country, the best we can hope for is a law that bans assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. At least make them stop to reload. Give us a chance.
Ceasefire Oregon calls on both presidential candidates—Barack Obama and Mitt Romney—to speak out now, unequivocally, in support of immediate reinstatement of the ban on assault weapons and large capacity gun magazines. The men, women, and children who died scrambling to protect each other even as they fled Holmes’s murderous barrage showed the kind of courage our leaders need to emulate. It is time to stand up to the NRA and protect Americans by removing assault weapons from the marketplace.
Reinstate the assault weapons ban. Now. Before another domestic terrorist guns down our loved ones.
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| Image of protest from today, outside the Portland Convention Center |
RELATED: An Associated Press news report about today's protest.
(image taken from HERE)
