A long term campaign by the Community of Sant’Egidio, for a violence free America to stop the easy and improper use of guns, started in the year of mercy.
The number of deaths and the spread of violence in our country urges us to act both personally and collectively: one person at a time, one gesture at a time, one friendship at a time. However, we also want to mobilize and to ramp up a national campaign. “Solidarity for Life – No to Violent Deaths – Stop the Easy Access and Improper Use of Guns” is our way of fulfilling the duty to which Pope Francis calls us: to “confront the problem and stop the arms trade.”
Our appeal
- Nobody should cause violent deaths; either intentionally or unintentionally.
- All persons should do everything that they can to save the lives of others.
- We should not seek, keep, or use weapons improperly.
- We should all think and act for the good of all.
Our pledge
- I recognize that, in the US, too many persons are the victims of violence, guns, and mass shootings.
- I find these deaths both unjust and unacceptable: they are an expression of a societal disorder and not just the occasional choice of an unstable person.
- I join others in calling everyone living in the US to be more aware of the serious risks posed to others by persons using weapons improperly: it is imperative to act to defend all human persons, especially innocent victims.
- In signing this appeal, I pledge to speak with others and to act to move the US toward a more secure, respectful, and liberated future. I am aware that this will take both time and the commitment of many.
To read the full campaign brief, please click here.
Join our campaign by taking action:
- Signing your name to the campaign by filling the form above
- Recording a 1 minute video signature with your name, personal statement to commit to solidarity for life and names of those you wish to remember. Share the video on Twitter with the Hashtag #SolidarityForLife
- Prayers for peace where the killings in the US have been remembered
- Reading of names of victims of violent deaths in a city
- Connecting with victims’ families
- Recognition of violence as a contagion and a serious epidemic that needs to be addressed by society in a similar way to how we address HIV or cancer
- People gathering together from different walks of life to interrupt this cycle of violence before it spreads
- Pilgrimages to sites of violence in order to bear witness to this reality in a tangible and visible forum
All of our friends participating in the campaign are invited to organize events and occasions as well as to suggest new initiatives to the National Coordinating Committee through email: santegidiodc@gmail.com
Solidarity for Life – No to Violent Deaths