SHJ Supports Ban on Assault Rifles

The Society for Humanistic Judaism Supports Ban on Assault Rifles; Calls for Boycott of Stores Selling Assault Weapons 

The following is the official SHJ statement regarding this matter:

As Humanistic Jews, our hearts are broken as we grapple with the loss of 26 lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. For more than a decade, we have been witness to mass shootings with no relief. Across the United States, in schools, theaters, and malls, from Virginia Tech, to Columbine, to Aurora and now to Sandy Hook, the senseless violence has continued. Committed to taking responsibility for improving our world, the Society for Humanistic Judaism believes it is time for us to come together to work for a change in our gun laws.

The Society has adopted a resolution calling for a ban on the sale of assault rifles and high capacity magazines as well as increased efforts to prevent people from buying guns through unlicensed dealers without a background check. The Society does not believe that the right to bear arms as embodied in the Second Amendment includes the right for citizens to own military-grade assault rifles and high capacity magazines. The resolution recognizes "that the response to such mass shootings is complex and must be approached with a multi-faceted solution that includes better mental health treatment and screening as well as a society committed to less glorification of violence."  Read the full resolution on the Society's website.

Recognizing that the huge profitability from the sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines provides a disincentive for retailers to remove these items from their shelves, the Society for Humanistic Judaism has organized a boycott of retailers who sell assault rifles and high capacity magazines. People can join the boycott by signing our petition.

Signing the petition is a pledge to boycott the retailers that continue to sell these weapons and instead shop at stores that have removed such weapons from their online catalogues and stores. The petition lists the "responsible" retailers that have removed these weapons and the "irresponsible" retailers that have not. The Society has notified the "irresponsible" retailers of the boycott, and will update the lists as additional information is received, including moving "irresponsible" retailers to the list of "responsible" retailers if they decide to stop selling these weapons.