October 29, 2018: WNDC Statement: Carnage at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh

Posted on October 29, 2018 at 12:00 AM

Members of the Woman’s National Democratic Club are outraged and sickened over Saturday’s horrific slaughter of our fellow human beings during Jewish Shabbat services. We are witnessing yet another mass shooting rampage brought about by a lethal combination: hate and an obscene and easy access to military-style weapons. An assassin’s act of hate-fueled violence has terminated the futures of 11 people and forever altered the lives of their loving families and the community where they lived and worshipped.

This atrocity, coming on the heels of last week’s racially motivated killing of two African Americans in a Kentucky grocery store and a pipe bomb mass assassination attempt against prominent Democrats and a cable-news network, has us rightfully questioning whether #45’s vindictive venom is breathing new life into this recent spate of violence. This is a legitimate concern and should be debated, along with the spread of outrageous conspiracy theories. However, one thing is abundantly clear about the unique epidemic of gun violence in this country: our weak gun laws are the culprit, they are destroying us, and our current NRA-owned leaders will do nothing to save us from tomorrow’s carnage.

We believe that all of us should be able to worship at our temples or churches, to enjoy a concert or cinema, or to learn at schools without the fear that each day could be our last. We grieve for the Pittsburgh Squirrel Hill community, and we owe it nothing less than to stay anchored in our belief that meaningful gun laws WILL make a difference.

In this connection, let us campaign these last eight days like we have never campaigned before to elect candidates to the House and Senate who are committed to end gun violence. (See our list of those candidates who have been endorsed by major gun reform advocacy groups HERE)

“The sole option we have to save ourselves … is for all of us; progressive Christians and humanists and Muslims and Atheists and Jews and Agnostics to vote in November; in vast numbers, in unwavering unity, and unreservedly Blue.” (Christian pastor and author John Pavlovitz, October 23, 2018)