Washington D.C. — Today, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence and the Latino Victory Project launched ¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate — a tour with stops in El Paso, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio — to raise awareness in the Latino community about the growing threats of gun violence and the white supremacist-based anti-Latino movement.
The new partnership and tour come in response to the deadliest white-supremacy motivated terrorist attack against Latinos in recent American history. The El Paso town hall will be streamed live via NoticiasTelemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages as part of its recently-launched campaign #LatinoStrong, Unidos Contra el Odio.
Gun violence survivor and founder of Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, alongside Latino Victory Project Executive Director Mayra Macías, will kick off the tour with a town hall in El Paso, Texas, on August 22. Speakers participating in the town hall will also include: Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Texas State Representative Cesar J. Blanco, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence Executive Director Peter Ambler and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Executive Vice President of Field and Member Services Vanessa Gonzalez.
“Easy gun access and hate are fueling deadly violence against Latinos in America,” said Peter Ambler, Giffords Executive Director. “Texas is vibrant because of communities like El Paso, places of optimism, hope, and people from all different backgrounds united in working toward a stronger country. We are proud to partner in this effort to stand up against the forces of fanaticism and terror. This is a moment for us to come together, share our stories, and stand united in our call for leaders to enact laws that will protect us from hate and gun violence.”
“Our nation just witnessed the largest act of terror against the Latino community in modern American history, where a white supremacist took the lives of 22 innocent people in El Paso, Texas,” said Mayra Macías, Latino Victory Executive Director. “Now more than ever, we need to have an honest and transparent conversation about two of the most pressing issues affecting our country: the gun violence epidemic and the rise of the white-supremacy and anti-Latino movements. We are grateful to partner with Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence as we embark on the “¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate”. We thank Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for her tenacity and commitment to make every community in America safe and for joining us in saying: ¡ya basta!”
“White supremacy kills. It is killing our Latinx community members, our immigrants, our religious minorities, and other marginalized groups. We have seen throughout our country’s history what a system built on white supremacy does, from slavery to Japanese internment camps. Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies, combined with the absence of common-sense gun safety laws has contributed to the rise in hate-based killings. That is fact, not speculation. Now, more than ever, we must remain united together in the fight to end white supremacy in all its forms,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Executive Vice President. The LCCR Education Fund’s Communities Against Hate initiative is a ¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate partner.
Additional details about events in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, during the last week of August, are forthcoming.
