Contact:

Amy Couch, (202)-238-9088, acouch@americanhumanist.org

(Washington D.C., November 6, 2017)–The American Humanist Association (AHA) is sickened by yesterday’s tragic shooting of 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. As of today, 307 mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. this year. Three of the top five deadliest American massacres occurred just in the last 15 months. We must unite as human beings against this spreading culture of violence.

The AHA calls on secular and religious leaders alike to stand together and ensure that our faiths and philosophies are not warped into justifications for violence.

Just hours after yesterday’s shooting, Roy Speckhardt, executive director of AHA, was speaking to several hundred Air Force recruits a few miles away from Sutherland Springs. “I spoke about how, even as we critique fundamentalism, we must always respect each other as human beings, even when we don’t agree on religious and political ideals and convictions.” The recruits, many of whom were atheists and humanists, got Speckhardt’s message. “When I asked for their opinion as to whether or not we should criticize religious people, or proselytize our beliefs to them, they let out a resounding “No!”

The AHA calls on leaders across America to call out hate and join these Air Force recruits to stand together in civility. Take the Civility Pledge here.