June 30, 2016
WILPF stands with the victims of the Orlando PULSE LGBTQ Nightclub
Women's International League for Peace & Freedom - US Section
stands with the victims of the Orlando Florida PULSE LGBTQ Nightclub, and their families and against the homophobic hatred and fear that too many Americans express for the larger LGBTQ community, the immigrant community and Muslims in the US.
We affirm the right of all LGBTQ people to love freely and openly. We defend and assert the rights and contributions of all immigrants who are frequently under suspicion. We preserve the human and religious rights of all Muslims, whose peaceful religion is constantly suspect because of the actions of a few. We vehemently reject any threats to the humanity and dignity of any of us through violence and cultural hatred.
The recent shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people underscores the destructiveness of hate, the refusal to recognize the rights, humanity, dignity, and equality of ALL persons. We strongly condemn this carnage and erasure, real and/or symbolic. The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (US) therefore, stands against any practices, policies, or beliefs that privilege only a few. In the midst of the current climate of hate, we mourn and stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ, Latinx, and Muslim communities who have lost loved ones and against all acts that diminish their personhood.
Founded in 1915 by a group of international women, including Americans, seeking a peaceful ending to WW1, the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom is the oldest women's international peace organization in the world. We have advocated for peace, global disarmament, human rights, and justice for all. We pledge to continue our struggle to secure lasting global peace and disarmament. With branches across the country, we work with our local LGBTQ, immigration, religious freedom advocates and peace organizations to defend the rights and lives of our LGBTQ, Latinx, immigrant, and Muslim communities and friends, for as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." In this struggle against hate and violence, we will stand in solidarity!
We call all our local leaders and Congress to ban all assault weapons and pass stronger gun control laws, to end the cycle of violence which threatens all of us and our communities.
Call To Action: For WILPF Members and Branches
Our responsibility to stand with LGBTQ, immigrant, and Muslim community members and neighbors has never been more urgent. WILPF-US urges our members and branches to:
- Attend vigils, build bridges and learn how we can be more supportive of these vulnerable cultural communities.
- Work with partners who already have a local track-record and are organizing for support.
- Invite members of the targeted communities to WILPF meetings to speak about their local experiences and how we can be active allies.
- Attend and help plan inter-denominational events and vigils which share stories and strengthen our sense of "community."
Our responsibility to stand against the lack of gun regulations in America is also urgent. We urge members to:
- Write your Representatives and Senators, your Mayors and Governors to lobby for a ban on assault weapons. Efforts at the state level may be more effective than at the national level.
- Advocate for the ban of the sales of all assault weapons. There is no use for them other than killing human beings.
- Advocate at the national level for a redefinition of the terms of the 2nd Amendment by the Supreme Court.
- Advocate for the Centers for Disease Control and the American Medical Association to issue statements and make available comprehensive research that document the contributions of gun violence to senseless deaths in America.
Internationally, the NRA has been active in opposing international weapons treaties since the early 1990s. Read more about the blood-soaked influence the NRA exerts to protect its profits.
Consult our sister organization REACHING CRITICAL WILL for more information about strategies to help achieve global disarmament or the "arms control of many different weapon systems."
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/
Learn the facts, speak out, and stand together for human rights to life, love, and freedom. Contact us at
info@wilpfus.org
for more ideas about actions and advocacy, and to learn what other WILPF members are doing as allies.
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