March is  Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of women and their vital role in society. It is also a time to call attention to women’s unequal status in society. This unequal status is apparent in the violence and abuse directed against women in the United States:

Every month in the U.S. 70 women are shot and killed by an abusive partner. 

Access to a gun makes it 5 times more likely that an abusive partner will kill his victim.

One million women alive today have been shot, or shot at, by an intimate partner.

The ripple effect of gun violence against women goes beyond the intimate relationship to affect the family and the entire community. Children and teens who witness domestic violence, or live with it, often suffer PTSD, behavioral problems, and suicidal thoughts that persist into adulthood. 

We ask you to both pray for communities suffering gun violence, and to sponsor, support, and work to enact legislation to ban semi-automatic firearms, require universal background checks, require domestic abusers to give up their guns, and require reporting lost or stolen guns.

This petition was started by the Medical Mission Sisters. To access this petition online go to:  www.change.org/medicalmissionsisters