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2nd ATTEMPT for kklee44@aol.com: Force Congress to BAN Assault Weapons >>
The New York Times:Keeping Focus on Gun Bills, Democrats Urge McConnell and Senate to Act
We told you that President Obama URGED us to take a stand against NRA Republicans.

So we launched our huge petition to DEMAND that Mitch McConnell hold a vote to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban.

But we still need another 2,519 signatures to fill our petition!!

So we’re extending our deadline to 11:59 PM TONIGHT. Don’t skip this (it only takes a second):
ADD MY SIGNATURE ➞We’re devastated by the recent mass shootings -- we can’t BELIEVE that McConnell is still refusing to take action.

Weapons of War have no place in our communities!
SO NO MORE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!
House Democrats are STEPPING UP to force McConnell to allow a vote on major Gun Reform bills.

We’re SO CLOSE to forcing McConnell’s hand, so add your name immediately:
ADD MY SIGNATURE ➞Thank you for doing the right thing,

-EndCitizensUnited.org
This message was sent to: kklee44@aol.com
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John M. -
13 days ago, 22 people were shot dead at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
In the days following this horrific tragedy, Walmart decided to remove the violent video game displays from their stores.
However, they continued to sell guns with disturbing displays like this:

Walmart has decided to deflect criticism away from themselves by parroting gun lobby talking points instead of addressing the root of the problem.
We need major retailers like Walmart to understand that video games aren’t the problem and that there are laws out there that can save lives. That’s where you come in:
Sign on to tell Walmart that violent video games aren't to blame. We need to support policies like universal background checks that will save lives.
ADD YOUR NAME
Walmart will never change their policies unless they face a wave of massive public pressure.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s the truth.
So it’s up to us to use our collective voices to fight for a change that can save lives.
We hope to see your name on our petition,
The team at Giffords
ADD YOUR NAME






This email was sent to johnmrinaldi@gmail.com. We try to send only the most important information and opportunities to participate via email, but click here if you'd like to unsubscribe. Giffords PAC was started to support elected officials who step up to fight the gun violence epidemic. Thank you for standing with Gabby and Mark.

John M. -
With your help, we’ve been able to run our ads in Kentucky and Colorado this week to keep up the pressure on Mitch McConnell and Cory Gardner.
TV ads like this are expensive, but we want to keep them running for as long as we can.
Because we think the price is worth paying if the result is passing laws that will save lives.
That’s why we’re asking for your help to turn up the heat on Mitch McConnell and his NRA allies in the Senate.
Can you make a $3 donation to Giffords PAC to help us keep up the pressure on Mitch McConnell?
DONATE NOW
We can’t thank you enough for your support over the last week.
We know it’s been difficult, but the support you’ve shown has allowed us to pay for these ads that are no doubt moving the needle.
So thank you for refusing to back down.
The team at Giffords
DONATE NOW






This email was sent to johnmrinaldi@gmail.com. We try to send only the most important information and opportunities to participate via email, but click here if you'd like to unsubscribe. Giffords PAC was started to support elected officials who step up to fight the gun violence epidemic. Thank you for standing with Gabby and Mark.

John — we’re emailing for $5.
Why? Because we’re launching an ad campaign to call out the Senate leadership for their inaction.
Our ads are running in Colorado and Kentucky. Their purpose is to put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Cory Gardner to vote on universal background checks.
The bottom line is the Senate must return immediately from August Recess to vote on background checks, and these ads are our best chance at building public pressure.
So right now, our job is to put a spotlight on Mitch McConnell and his NRA allies in the Senate. And that’s where you come in:
Can you make a $5 donation to Giffords PAC to help us keep up the pressure on Mitch McConnell?
DONATE NOW
Your support is what has allowed us to film these ads and run them in Mitch McConnell’s backyard.
Every day that the ads are up brings us one step closer to forcing Mitch McConnell to take the universal background checks bill off of his desk and onto the Senate floor.
This is what we’ve been fighting for.
Thank you for your support, we couldn’t have made it this far without you.
The team at Giffords
DONATE NOW

.[The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act was enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 199411]

The prohibitions expired on September 13, 2004.[11]
The Act prohibited the manufacture, transfer, or possession of "semiautomatic assault weapons," as defined by the Act. "Weapons banned were identified either by specific make or model (including copies or duplicates thereof, in any caliber), or by specific characteristics that slightly varied according to whether the weapon was a pistol, rifle, or shotgun" (see below).[11]

The Act also prohibited the manufacture of "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" (LCAFDs) except for sale to government, law enforcement or military, though magazines made before the effective date ("pre-ban" magazines) were legal to possess & transfer. An LCAFD was defined as "any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device manufactured after the date [of the act] that has the capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition".[11]
The Act included a number of exemptions and exclusions from its prohibitions:

• The Act included a "grandfather clause" to allow for possession and transfer of weapons and ammunition that "were otherwise lawfully possessed on the date of enactment."[11]
• The Act exempted some 650 firearm types or models including their copies and duplicates that would be considered manufactured on October of 1993, including the Ruger Mini-14 Auto Loading Rifle without side folding stock, Ruger Mini Thirty Rifle, Iver Johnson M-1 Carbine, Marlin Model 9 Camp Carbine, Marlin Model 45 Carbine, see the complete list in section 110106, Appendix A to section 922 of Title 18. This list was not exhaustive and the act provided that the absence of a firearm from the exempted list did not mean it was banned unless it met the definition of 'semiautomatic assault weapon.'"[11]
• The Act "also exempted any firearm that (1) is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) has been rendered permanently inoperable; or (3) is an antique firearm."[11]
• The Act "also did not apply to any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than ten rounds of ammunition or semiautomatic shotguns that cannot hold more than five rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable magazine."[11] Tubular magazine fed rimfire guns were exempted regardless of tubular magazine capacity.
• The Act provided an exemption for the use of "semiautomatic assault weapons and LCAFDs to be manufactured for, transferred to, and possessed by law enforcement and for authorized testing or experimentation purposes" as well as transfers for federal-security purposes under the Atomic Energy Act and "possession by retired law enforcement officers who are not otherwise a prohibited possessor under law."[11]

In 1989, the George H. W. Bush administrationhad banned the importation of foreign-made, semiautomatic rifles deemed not to have "a legitimate sporting use." It did not affect similar but domestically-manufactured rifles.[12]
(The Gun Control Act of 1968 gives discretion to the Attorney General of the United States to choose whether to "authorize a firearm or ammunition to be imported or brought into the United States," under what is known as "the sporting purposes test."[11])

Following the enactment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, the ATF determined that "certain semiautomatic assault rifles could no longer be imported even though they were permitted to be imported under the 1989 'sporting purposes test' because they had been modified to remove all of their military features other than the ability to accept a detachable magazine" and so in April 1998, it "prohibited the importation of 56 such rifles, determining that they did not meet the 'sporting purposes test.'"[11]
​

The NRA just attacked Kamala. We need your help, John:
FIRST: Kamala released a bold plan to stand up to the gun lobby and finally take action to stop gun violence -- with or without Congress.
THEN: The NRA went on the attack -- targeting Kamala by name yesterday and calling her plan “ridiculous” and “anti-gun.”
NOW: We need to reach our emergency fundraising goals today to ensure we have the resources to respond:
We need 997 more donations before midnight to ensure we have the budget to respond to these attacks -- will you contribute right now?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
CHIP IN $5 NOW
CHIP IN $25 NOW
CHIP IN $50 NOW
CHIP IN $100 NOW
CHIP IN $250 NOW
ANOTHER AMOUNT



​
For the gun lobby, there is no more important mission than defeating any politician that has the courage to stand up to them and present real solutions to the gun violence epidemic.
We can’t let these attacks on Kamala and our campaign go unanswered, which is why your contribution of any amount is so important today.
Thanks for all you do.
— Team Kamala

John M.,
We’ve been working to pressure Mitch McConnell to hold a debate and vote on the bipartisan background checks bill that has been sitting on his desk for the last 164 days.
That bill remains our top priority.
But there might be a new opportunity for another bipartisan bill that could save lives:

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), sometimes called “Red Flag laws,” would allow families and law enforcement to petition a court directly to temporarily remove a person’s access to guns if they pose a threat to themselves or others.
Laws like this are proven to work, and are a critically important piece in our efforts to save lives. Your support will help us make a difference:
Sign our petition and urge Congress to pass Extreme Risk legislation. We need to be proactive in our pursuit of making our communities safer and this is a step in the right direction.


Bills like these are important to us because it takes courage to speak up when you see someone going through a crisis.

It takes courage to save a life. And that type of courage is ingrained in the DNA of our organization.
Now it’s up to us to give lawmakers the courage to act.
​
Thank you for your help with this.
The team at Giffords

In response to the November 24 issue with Brooke Shields.

Teri Shields was many things- strong willed, over-protective, and at times provocative. Teri saw in Brooke what we all did- one of the most beautiful faces and used that to succeed- for Brooke and for herself. Terihad married into a rather wealthy family, and after being married for a short time Teri wanted for Brooke the life she was born into having.  Unfortunately the marriage failed and Teri was very very independent.  As a former model herself, she saw not only what could be, but what should be. A lot had happened in that long illustrious controversial career, but in the end Brooke has the life Teri wanted- including the social registry associated with the Hampton's family.

Many have commented and criticized Teri for managerial skills, but no-one can deny her maternal skills. Brooke went to a normal high-school, did normal things from cheer-leading to riding her beloved horses. Teri's maternal skills far outweighed her survival skills as I am here to prove it. I was a broken little boy whom she took it upon herself to makes sure was properly cared for. And in Teri's spirit and my obligation to pay-it forward, this 1214/ December 14 in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims we will be launching a national campaign that #STOPBullyingSTOPSchoolViolence on the second anniversary. We understand that bullying is the biggest instigator in this pandemic of school shootings, and we believe if we can get every student to sign a contract to be kind and to promise NOT to bully we can prevent the next
school shooting.

As a 12 y/o little boy I was abused by a neighbor 38yrs to my junior. I obviously didn't understand rape, let alone it being assaulted by a man, so to say the least I did not bode well. I became a self isolated kid who eventually spent the year in and out of the hospital as I suffered deep emotionally. I had seen Blue Lagoon, and the only way I was to survive was that I had to dream- I too was on that Blue Lagoon and played some Risky Business. After a failed suicide attempt I began to escape into the Hollywood dream world, and began to send Brooke Shields messages.

It wasn't anything creepy- a basic fan letter. Those letters soon began being answered and eventually I felt safe enough o share my innermost secrets.  Brooke Shields' mother Terri would call 1x or 2x a week after receiving a letter which eluded to my being abused. Mrs. Shields would talk to my folks and explain the 'secret' which then helped me to accept my abuse which allowed me the necessary steps to heal. It seems crazy that in the 80's, that Brooke and her mom would take interest in a broken boy, but they did.

They sensed my pain and wanted to extend themselves to show that people really do care- it saved my life. I spent the next few years seeking treatment.

About 15 years later, or so I would befriend an ex salesman from Gucci who was the Shields' go to guy. He laughed saying that Brooke was very conservative and didn't indulge much, but Teri, Teri would order 3pairs of crocodile loafers at a time that infuriated Brooke.  What's interesting here was that I told this guy my story, and that I was alive today because of the kindness of a stranger and then shared what Mrs. Shields had done. The sales-guy then explained that he remembered Mrs. Shields sharing the same story to him and her needing advice.   What's even more interesting was that we had we not dated for several months, I'd have had no idea.

Right before my sophomore year, I was hit by a drunk driver and broke my neck-c3 and c5.  I also shattered both the fibula and tibia. The next full year I was in and out of hospitals, and in 12month's time, I was walking without a limp and was fully healed. To say I had defied all logic would be an understatement.  My doctors had initially prepared me for a far worse state- they had originally believed I would most likely lose my left leg, and even quite possibly remain paralyzed from the neck down.

With my new season on life, thankful to be alive, and remembering the kindness of a stranger, I set out to LA. My foolish plan was to become the next Tom Cruise. It wasn't until I did several tv shows, dated Halle Berry,  and spent 6months working on A Few Good Men, that I didn't have to be
the star to do good. I then met Matthew Broderick at a Hollywood house party and he shared with me his charity work with Young Artists United. I proceeded to ask how I could help and he proceeded with my introduction.  I quickly joined Matthew and from there I went off onto my own and have lived a life of service ever since.

I didn't appreciate my life as a kid because I was too broken. Now that I learned the importance of kindness and saw the decency of humanity I wanted to help all kids and to prevent them from ever feeling as I had growing up.  

December 14, 2012, SandyHook, Newtown, and all the world experienced one of the most horrific events in US history. Within days of the shootings,  I had left New York City, went to Newtown, CT.  It wasn't my intention to stay, but after being welcomed, I stayed and haven't left.  With our representing the town, the families and realizing the importance of combating abuse/violence, we are now building a $25- $30 million dollar KidsCenter.
 
I went from trying to end my life every way imaginable to fighting tooth and nail to keep it.  If Teri Shields hadn't cared for a total stranger, I would not be here today. If that kindness wasn't matched with a life changing event I wouldn't have been compelled to a life of service. And with all that we are honoring the victims of SandyHook and paying tribute to all who suffered school violence/shootings. It's a pay it forward.


Best,
John Rinaldi