7 GAYS AGAINST GUNS ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN HART SENATE “DIE-IN”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHEN: Monday, November 6, 2017, 3 p.m.
WHAT: Gays Against Guns Press Conference and Protest
WHERE: Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: www.gaysagainstguns.net 7 GAYS AGAINST GUNS ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN HART SENATE “DIE-IN”
One day after massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas, 3 major gun control demands made Washington, DC (November 6, 2017)—At 12 noon on Monday, November 6, 2017, 7 activists from Gays Against Guns (GAG) were arrested after holding a disruptive “die-in” in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building to demand gun control measures.
The activists demanded that Congress immediately pass Senator Chris Murphy’s Background Check Expansion Act and Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban, as well as reinstate federal funding of Centers for Disease Control research into gun violence.
“These GOP lawmakers who take money from the NRA are literally killing this country with their refusal to push gun controls like those we demanded today,” said arrestee Tim Murphy. “We’ll continue to haunt them as long as they stand by silently while more AR-15-assisted massacres take place.”
The activists had earlier visited the offices of National Rifle Association beneficiaries Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio to deliver their demands while additional GAG activists chanted outside with a banner that read “Background Checks Work.”
“I hope today’s action inspires the 94% of Americans who support background checks to hold their elected officials accountable in more demonstrative ways,” said GAG member John Grauwiler. The three forms of activism we used today speak to the comprehensive and systemic nature of the gun violence problem. No stone can be unturned and no one can hide,” he said.
Gays Against Guns is an inclusive direct action group of LGBTQ people and their allies committed to nonviolently breaking the gun industry's chain of death—investors, manufacturers, the NRA, and politicians who block strong gun laws. Active GAG chapters in NYC; Washington, DC; Orlando; and Provincetown, MA work to ensure safety for all individuals, particularly vulnerable communities such as people of color, women, people who struggle with mental health issues, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities. GAG condemns white supremacy, all instances of excessive force by police, and police militarization.
