BuxMont Coalition For Peace Action – Bucks and Eastern Montgomery County, PA

Rev. Bob Moore

Yesterday’s failure by the US Senate to pass a single new measure to reduce gun violence is a shameful and outrageous insult to the victims of Newtown, CT and to the 90 people a day who die from gun violence in America. To not even get the necessary 60 votes for bipartisan measures such as extending background checks to almost all gun sales, and increasing penalties for illegal gun trafficking, is especially egregious.

Polls show about 90% Americans, including 75% of NRA members, support expanding background checks. It is a profound sign of democratic dysfunction when the US Senate can’t event muster 60% of its members to support it.

We worked hard in our region and are pleased that all four US Senators from NJ and PA voted for these important bills that common sense, the experience of other nations, and almost all independent experts agree would result in major reductions in gun violence. We especially commend Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) for his long time leadership on this issue, and for being the lead sponsor of a bill to limit ammunition magazines to 10 bullets; and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) for co-leading the bill on expanding background checks.

Though it is hard to resist, we must not succumb to cynicism or hopelessness. That would only guarantee that this outrageous situation will continue. Majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, has left the door open for a new vote on the bipartisan background checks. If there is a strong enough expression from Americans of good will, these defeats could be reversed sooner rather than later.

It is crucial that we understand that real progress on major social issues usually takes persistent effort over time. Movements for the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and ending the Vietnam and Iraq wars all took a decade or more of sustained citizen action to achieve significant results.

Some 35 years ago, I was a leader in founding the National Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. After I became Executive Director of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) in 1981, I chaired the Steering Committee for the New Jersey Campaign.

In response to a huge groundswell of public opinion, including the largest demonstration in US history in June 1982, and passage of Nuclear Weapons Freeze referenda in New Jersey and nine other states, President Reagan resumed then suspended nuclear arms negotiations with the Soviet Union. Mostly to try and pacify the US peace movement, he proposed the abolition of medium range nuclear weapons, which everyone knew would be rejected.

But five years later, a new Soviet leader came into power and accepted that proposal. The result was the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty in history, which in 1987 agreed to abolish that entire category of nuclear weapons. Since then, additional treaties and other measures have reduced the global nuclear arsenal from about 70,000 to 10,000 nuclear warheads. That still leaves a lot of work ahead, but it represents more progress than very few then imagined.

We can make similar progress in reducing gun violence in America. It requires average citizens who are willing to persist in their activism. That can take many forms, such as vigils, demonstrations, lobbying, education, and electoral and media work. We need people to commit to such sustained involvement. Those wanting to become involved are encouraged to visit CFPA’s web site www.peacecoalition.org or call the office (609) 924-5022.

The Rev. Robert Moore is Executive Director of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) and Pastor of East Brunswick Congregational Church. Ceasefire New Jersey, the state’s largest and oldest gun violence prevention organization, is a Project of CFPA.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director, Coalition for Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund
40 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08542

This statement was issued as a letter to the editor and a press release on April 18, 2013.