27 May PCUN Statement: We demand Congress and the Senate to take action now!

Words don’t feel sufficient now, but we must open our hearts to you and share what we’re feeling.. Our organization values public health and safety, racial justice, and the ability to take care of our families. 

Our communities have been in mourning for the last few weeks due to back-to-back mass shootings.  We’ve lost 10 of our Black and African-American siblings in Buffalo, NY, to a radicalized White-Nationalist, who for some time had been posting anti-Semitic, and anti-black rhetoric. We lost19 innocent children, and two brave teachers in a predominantly Latinx community in Uvalde, Texas. 

We all held our children tighter that evening, praying our schools were not next. While there were multiple warning signs in both incidents, our public safety systems failed us, again, and again. 

PCUN envision safe communities free from violence toward our children, and mass shootings. Where people showing signs of isolation, and tendencies to hurt others- are flagged and connected to the treatment they need to prevent the worst from happening. Where our schools can support all  our children, and where our essentials are easier to access than guns. 

We demand Congress and the Senate to take action now. We need a comprehensive approach to Public Health and Safety. First, by doing what is right, and passing gun control legislation, not just for AR-15s, but for all guns.  We know these are life-saving measures that will mitigate mass shootings but are not sufficient in eradicating the sickness our society is facing.

Next, we must look deep into the root by fighting Domestic Terrorism and investing resources into identifying people who are being radicalized online by paramilitary groups. We need to heal as a country from our violent past by building Reconciliation efforts at a Federal Level to heal from the wounds of slavery, white supremacy, and genocide.  Lastly, we must take action to support victims, their families, and the communities most impacted by losing loved ones to these horrid attacks. 

We must grieve; America is in mourning today. But we cannot and we will not live in fear. We will continue to work for a better tomorrow.

Juntxs en la lucha

(Together in the struggle)

Reyna Lopez

PCUN Executive Director