Hundreds of musicians have signed an open letter from the editors of music publication Billboard telling Congress to “Stop Gun Violence Now.”
Pop stars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry joined icons such as Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Barbra Streisand and many more famous musicians in affixing their signatures to the open letter, which comes in the wake of the recent gun violence in Orlando, including the worst mass shooting in U.S. history as well as the murder of singer, and former The Voice contestant, Christina Grimmie. (Singer and actress Selena Gomez, a personal friend of Grimmie’s, also signed the letter.)
In the letter, Billboard editors write that they “were horrified” by the recent killings and decided to partner with the gun-violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety to reach out to prominent members of the music industry to ask for their support on the issue. The letter calls on Congress “to do more to prevent the gun violence that kills more than 90 Americans every day and injures hundreds more.”
Read the full letter from Billboard to members of Congress, here:
“As leading artists and executives in the music industry, we are adding our voices to the chorus of Americans demanding change.
Music always has been celebrated communally, on dancefloors and at concert halls. But this life-affirming ritual, like so many other daily experiences—going to school or church or work—now is threatened, because of gun violence in this country.
The one thing that connects the recent tragedies in Orlando is that it is far too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on guns.
We call on Congress to do more to prevent the gun violence that kills more than 90 Americans every day and injures hundreds more, including:
- Require a background check for every gun sale
- Block suspected terrorists from buying guns
Billboard and the undersigned implore you—the people who are elected to represent us—to close the deadly loopholes that put the lives of so many music fans, and all of us, at risk.”
Billboard‘s letter also goes out to Congress on the day that Democratic members of the House of Representatives ended a sit-in after spending roughly 26 hours on the House floor in an attempt to force the Republican-majority Congress to schedule more votes on bills to tighten U.S. gun laws. (Democratic leaders broadcast the sit-in on the live-streaming service Periscope after House GOP shut off C-SPAN cameras.) Earlier this week, multiple proposed gun control bills failed to receive enough votes to pass.
