Earlier this month, I joined dozens of my colleagues in the creative community to take a stand against the gun violence that has insidiously become routine in the United States.
We are actors and artists, but we are American citizens first. We have a role to play and a responsibility to do more to prevent these tragedies. We are anxious to do our part to galvanize more Americans and find ways to help in the effort for sensible reforms. Our new Creative Council is part of Everytown and you can see a list of members and read about our organizing principles right here.
We're acting now because, for too long, the gun debate in this country has focused on choosing a side: pro-gun or anti-gun. That is simply a false choice. We respect the Second Amendment but keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of convicted criminals, terrorists, domestic abusers, stalkers and dangerous people isn't anti-gun; it's pro-common sense.
The ways that we reduced auto fatalities can serve as a model for how we can reduce gun violence.
Many of us remember driving around without seatbelts or when driving drunk wasn't taboo. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups teamed up with legislators and, together, they made it unacceptable and illegal to drive drunk or without buckling up.
As a result, countless lives have been saved.
While we have made dramatic progress in states and cities across the country, we still haven't done for gun safety what we've done for auto safety. The problem comes down to a powerful but calcified gun lobby that is out of step with its own constituents of gun owners and with the American people.
We know that more than 90 percent of Americans support common-sense reforms that are proven to save lives. What not enough people know and what the gun lobby doesn't want more of us to know is that a large majority of gun owners support these reforms too.
The Creative Council has already started our work and we need you to join us and help grow this movement. Please go to wecanendgunviolence.org, sign up, learn more about what you can do and take action.
Email your Congressperson. Write a letter to the editor. Make a donation to Everytown. Talk to your friends and colleagues. There's no action too small with a task this monumental. Everyone and everything count.
We know that change won't happen overnight, but it will happen when everyone comes together, no matter who we are. If that happens, we can pave a path toward a safer future.