Death threats, vandalism

People of faith are leading by example, praying for unity and an end to the violent rhetoric that's erupted around the health care vote. We need Reps. who stood with the Tea Partiers to join us and stand up to their threats and violence before someone gets hurt. Sign the petition: pray for peace and condemn violence today. Dear Supporter, Since the historic vote on health care reform Sunday night, an outbreak of hateful speech and threats of violence directed at Members of Congress who stood up for health care reform has spread across the country. Bricks thrown through office windows. Voicemail boxes filled with death threats. Someone even cut the gas line to the house of Rep. Tom Perriello's brother, who has four small children. [1] As people of faith, we feel compelled to say: enough is enough. Many of these violent actions are tied to extremists in the Tea Party movement, which has been applauded and encouraged by Members of Congress like Reps. Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and Mike Pence, who led a Tea Party rally last week. We're calling on these Reps. who stood with the Tea Partiers to stand up to the threats and violence. [2] Sign the petition: Join us in praying for peace and demanding accountability for violence words and deeds. People of faith are leading by example. We are joining together as a community to reject violence and pray for peace, and we're calling on political leaders of all parties to join us. Our leaders need to take a stand, and show that combating hate and violence is not a partisan issue. Sign the petition: Ask Congressional Tea Party leaders to stand with the faith community in condemning violence. Specifically, we are calling on Reps. Michele Bachmann, Steve King and Mike Pence to join us in calling for peace and condemning violence. Bachmann, King and Pence all gave speeches at the Tea Party rally the day before the House vote -- the same rally where Members of Congress were spat upon and called racist and anti-gay slurs. [2] We need to act now. Congress is about to go on recess Members are heading back to their home towns.  Congress's recess last August was when disruption and nastiness broke out at health care town halls across the country. Sign the petition: Join the faith community in condemning violence, before it gets worse. The faith community is at its best when it demonstrates that love and hope are greater than fear and hate. Hope you can join us in speaking out. Thanks for all you do, Beth, Katie, Dan, Kristin and Jennifer The Faithful America Team PS: These threats and hate speech aren't just tied to health care reform. Last weekend a Latino Member of Congress was called a "wetback," and an anonymous caller told his family to "go back to Mexico." As immigration takes center stage, we can only expect this rhetoric to get worse. Please sign our petition today. The faith community and our leaders in Congress need to denounce violence, no matter the cause. Sources: [1] http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34983.html [2] http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/20/code-red-gun/ Click here to unsubscribe All content © 2010 Faithful America 1101 Vermont Avenue, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005 5