Received this e-mail today from former Columbus, GA Mayor, Teresa Tomlinson’s (D. GA) U.S. Senate campaign:
If you had asked me a few years ago whether we should eliminate the Senate filibuster, I would have told you, “Absolutely not.”
But last August, days after 31 people were massacred in El Paso and Dayton, a bipartisan universal background check bill that Georgia’s own Representative Lucy McBath helped push through the House wasn’t even given a chance of being heard in the Senate. Mitch McConnell wouldn’t even consider it.
I knew then that it was time for the filibuster to go.
How in the world could a handful of Senate Republicans block any and all hearings on lifesaving legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans (including a majority of Republicans)?
The Parkland students who are standing up to the corporate gun lobby have been fighting for meaningful gun reforms ever since that tragic day two years ago. Thousands of families each year know the horror gun violence inflicts on our communities and are demanding action, marching in the street, and pushing for change.
Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party are bought and paid for by the NRA, an institution that has stopped representing responsible gun owners in order to shill for corporate gun manufacturers.
Those manufacturers have one objective – they want to sell more guns to earn higher profits. And David Perdue is proud to do their bidding.
As long as the Senate filibuster remains, we’ll need 60 votes to pass a single bill in the Senate. And that won’t happen anytime soon.
We can’t wait on 60 votes to stop domestic terrorism and white nationalism, to protect survivors of domestic violence from their abusers, to ban assault weapons and weapons of war on our streets, and to save the lives of innocent people and the brave law enforcement officers who must face these weapons every day. It is imperative that we pass red flag and universal background check laws to keep our communities safe. We know these laws save lives.
The time for waiting is over. The time for action is now. The Senate filibuster must go.
Thank you for taking action.
Yours truly,
Teresa Tomlinson
