ORLANDO, Fla., July 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NCLR
(National Council of La Raza) announced today that its Board of
Directors has unanimously voted in favor of policies aimed at
reducing gun violence in the nation. The position, a first in the
organization's 48-year history, was announced at the 2016 NCLR
Annual Conference during the National Affiliate Luncheon, a
gathering of the nation's Latino leaders representing NCLR's
Affiliate Network of almost 300 community-based organizations. The
announcement comes after the nation has experienced a series of
mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence, most recently
the horrific events in Orlando,
Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and
Dallas.
"Our announcement today comes as we hold our Annual Conference
in Orlando, the site of the
largest mass shooting in our nation's history, which took the lives
of 49 innocent people, most of whom were Latino," said NCLR
President and CEO Janet Murguía.
"The tragic event at Pulse nightclub changed Orlando and it has changed NCLR. Today, by
formally adopting this position, we join with the vast majority of
Americans calling for an end to gun violence and we will urge
policymakers to adopt common-sense measures to reduce mass
shootings and gun violence, saving countless lives."
The NCLR Board of Directors adopted a position to reduce gun
violence that includes the following elements:
- Reasonable restrictions on the acquisition of firearms and
ammunition consistent with the protection of the civil rights of
all Americans, including support for universal background
checks.
- A ban on assault weapons.
- Collection and analysis of data related to gun violence to
understand causes and develop prevention strategies.
In addition, NCLR will continue its work to expand the
availability of bilingual and culturally appropriate mental health
services, including violence prevention approaches, to all who need
them. "These are common-sense steps that are long overdue. And
it is incumbent on NCLR to give voice to the growing concern in our
community over such violence," concluded Murguía.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy
organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities
for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please
visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact:
Julian
Teixeira
jteixeira@nclr.org
(202) 776-1812
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SOURCE National Council of La Raza