Advocacy |
Advocacy is part of our role as leaders in the faith-health movement. At the HMA Summit II, June 2011 attendees were motivated by presentations on national health advocacy campaigns. Since then members across the country have become involved in local, regional and national activities.
Your HMA leadership remains committed to lending their support to these advocacy initiatives and intend to help keep you informed on campaign updates and opportunities in the coming weeks and months. Watch for updates on this new section of our website, or connect to one of the organizations we have linked here to learn more.
April 17, 2013: Today's Senate Votes and Next Steps -- We will prevail and save lives!
FROM Vinny DeMarco National Coordinator, Faith United to Prevent Gun Violence and HMA Member
As you may have heard, all amendments offered today on the Senate gun bill failed to reach the required 60 votes, including the one Faiths United endorsed by Senators Manchin and Toomey. (Attached are the votes on all the amendments and a list of how the Senators voted on Manchin-Toomey.) While it is disappointing that the Senate didn't respond to the will of the American people today, this is by no means the end.
Today's vote put the United States Senators "on record" and now America knows where they stand... and as the President stated earlier this evening, this was "just round one" and it's now up to the American people to respond.
Please note that Senator Harry Reid's "no" vote was procedural only. His vote allows him to bring the amendment back for reconsideration, if and when he believes he has the 60 votes needed to pass it. It was a smart move.
We encourage you to contact your Senators and tell them what you think of their votes. The following Democratic Senators voted "no" in the end, and they especially need to hear from constituents:
Mark Pryor (AK)
Max Baucus (MT)
Heidi Heitkamp (ND)
Mark Begich (AK)
We also especially encourage "thank you" messages to Republican Senators McCain, Collins and Kirk who joined Senator Toomey in supporting the Manchin-Toomey amendment.
We will be back in touch soon with more specific next steps, but please keep the pressure on the Senate to do the right thing soon. As President Obama has made clear, we shall prevail on this lifesaving issue.
Thanks so much!
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