It can take just minutes out of your day to advocate for gun reform, according to Katie Couric.
In an Instagram video, the award-winning journalist and founder of Katie Couric Media showed more than 1.6 million followers how easy it is to call members of Congress to voice their support for common sense gun reform policies.
The day after the Nashville elementary school mass shooting that killed three students and three faculty members, Couric retweeted a video of President Biden telling reporters that gun reform policy falls on the shoulders of Congress. “I have done the full extent of my executive authority…about guns,” said Biden, who has called for an assault weapons ban 70 times since taking office in 2021. “I can’t do anything except plead with Congress to act reasonably.”
Plead with Congress is exactly what Couric did. First, she filmed herself calling the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer. Although she was put on hold for a couple minutes, she advised her followers to be patient.
“Hi, my name is Katie Couric,” she said on the phone. “I am a constituent of Sen. Schumer’s and I would like to voice my support of the assault weapons ban.” Next, she called Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand with the same message. When asked if the office had received lots of calls about gun reform, Sen. Gillibrand’s secretary replied, “Yes.”
Last year, Democrats tried and failed to pass a ban on assault weapons – when they controlled both the House and the Senate. Now that Republicans control the House, it’s become more difficult to pass a ban, or even legislation requiring universal background checks. But that isn’t stopping Couric and others from trying.
Before ending the video, Couric demonstrated how to dial the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected with any member of the House or Senate. After dialing, she was quickly connected to her local representative, Jerrold Nadler. All in all, Couric called two senators and a representative in just seven minutes, all while she drank her morning coffee.
“You can take a little time out of your schedule to do the same,” she said. In the caption, she further advised her followers to learn about life-saving gun reform policies at the local and federal levels and to get involved with grassroots organizations such as Moms Demand Action, March Fourth and March For Our Lives.
“We need to make sure your voices are heard.”
