As a nation, we are still reeling in the wake of the tragic and senseless act of violence that occurred in a Buffalo supermarket. Yet another incident of white supremacist hatred in keeping with a legacy of racist violence that began before this country’s founding. We pray for the families who lost loved ones and for the community as they process this collective trauma.

As white supremacist violence continues to claim innocent lives, so too has the threat of reckless gun policies. Gun violence has impacted every aspect of life in America, from grocery shopping to our places of worship. Paired with rising domestic extremism, the lack of common-sense gun legislation is a dual threat that will continue to claim more lives.

Our faithful voice cries out, “how long, oh Lord” will these attacks keep happening? Until we address the threats of racist hate and gun violence, we cannot believe acts like this will not happen again.

Join us in taking an important step by demanding Senators take immediate bipartisan action on background check legislation. Loopholes in background check laws have only been exacerbated during the pandemic, meaning more guns will be sold to people who should not have them. In addition to passing legislation on background checks, Congress should be pushed to ban large capacity ammunition magazines and to implement extreme risk protection measures.

As another important step, urge your lawmakers to strengthen national, regional and local capacity to engage in hate crime prevention, hate crime prosecution, and community support services for those impacted by hate violence. We are not powerless in making these changes; we can, and must, take steps to fight white supremacist hate and gun violence.

Your legislators need to hear from you that we will not sit by and allow attacks like the one in Buffalo to be a part of everyday America. In our collective grief, let our prayers become actions. Tell your elected leaders to take immediate bipartisan action.