In the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, VPOST and the out-of-school time field grieves with the nation for the tragic loss of life. Robb Elementary School has an afterschool program supported by 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding and is part of our larger community. Once again, many people have been asking what policies and laws can be enacted to help prevent such tragedies from occurring. 

One time-sensitive action item we encourage you to promote comes from our partners at National League of Cities. They have created a sign-on letter for local elected officials across the country to join. This letter calls on Congress to pass strong bipartisan legislation that increases public safety while respecting the Second Amendment. 

We hope you will take action and urge your local elected officials to sign on to this letter by using this form. The deadline is this Monday, June 6, 2022. Local Elected officials vary by municipality but generally includes mayor, board of supervisors/city council, school board officials, sheriffs and others. You can go to your municipal location’s (city/county) website and search for your local elected officials. 

Here is sample language you can tailor: 

Greetings, 

I am a resident of ______ (city/county/town). Like so many, I am deeply disturbed by the mass shooting that has taken place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. As an elected representative of our community, one specific step you can take is to add your voice to this sign-on letter created for local elected officials from the National League of Cities. It calls on Congress to act pass bi-partisan legislation that increases public safety while respecting our Second Amendment. The deadline to join these efforts is Monday, June 6, 2022. 

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=vFSDTE28-kSeEoTSEanuag-I4M0xd-9ItyQ4-XmoV-1UQU1FQlFENkVSUjhISkZWU1hZUVI4ODZOMyQlQCN0PWcu&wdLOR=c916AFA59-43BF-4ECE-8BEB-5F2B8811FAEB

https://www.nlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/National-League-of-Cities-Open-Letter-to-Congress-PDF.pdf  

Please do everything in your position of power to advocate for common-sense laws that will help to keep more of our children, educators, and law enforcement officers safe. 

Respectfully,

Your Name

Thank you for your quick attention and action to support this critical moment.