We’re gearing up for a fight this fall in Washington state.

Nine out of 10 Americans support expanding background checks. It’s the right thing to do. But because some members of Congress refuse to stand up to the gun lobby, OFA supporters are taking the fight to the state and local level wherever we can make real progress.

OFA-Washington volunteers are part of a progressive coalition that helped gather enough signatures to put Initiative 594 on the ballot this November, a common-sense gun violence prevention measure to expand background checks on gun sales.

Folks on the ground have been building momentum on this issue for months, and that’s huge — but it’s just the start.

Right now, we stand a real chance to make progress in Washington state, in spite of the powerful and well-funded special interests. The other side is banking on the hope that you won’t be coming out to support this, so we’re asking folks to simply make a pledge to vote for Initiative 594 this November to make sure this initiative passes.

Background checks save lives, plain and simple, so this is important — will you make the pledge to vote for Initiative 594?

We’re in for a showdown on this one — the gun lobby has introduced their own initiative that would roll back background checks to the federal minimum, reversing the progress we’ve already seen on this issue in Washington.

Let’s be clear: Initiative 594 shouldn’t be controversial — it’s a logical extension of the background check law currently in place. Right now, all retail gun dealers must run a simple background screening on folks looking to purchase guns.

But right now Washingtonians can buy guns at gun shows, online, or in private transactions with no background check of any kind.

Initiative 594 would close those loopholes and extend the same rule to all gun purchases. It’s common sense, and it’s something that most Washingtonians support.

You know as well as I do that we’re up against powerful, well-funded interests here. It’s going to take everyone who cares about this issue to do their part.

This is about keeping our families and communities safe — add your name today and pledge to vote for Initiative 594:

Thanks,

Kelly

Kelly Byrne
National Issues Campaign Manager
Organizing for Action