USMNT calls on Congress to vote in favor of stricter gun controls

The USMNT is calling on Congress to act now.

The U.S. men’s national team has appealed to Congress, urging members to vote in favor of stricter gun controls.

In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde during the past month, an open letter from the USMNT was posted to the team’s official Twitter account Sunday, which according to U.S. Soccer has been sent to every member of both houses of Congress, and is collectively signed by the players and team staff.

“We are writing to join millions of people around the country who are asking a simple question: When are we going to do something about gun violence in America?” reads the letter, which was sent with anti-gun violence group Everytown tagged.

In addition to the letter, the USMNT will play Uruguay Sunday evening in Kansas City wearing orange armbands in support of Everytown’s Wear Orange Weekend.

The letter notes that both the House of Representatives and the Senate will hold votes on bills on the topic in the coming days, and urges members of both parties to vote in favor of those bills.

“There are those who say athletes shouldn’t get involved in issues that are deemed political. Certainly, we can all agree that the safety of the children in our country is a sacred responsibility that is shared by all of us,” reads the letter. “We believe it would be irresponsible not to use our platform to raise awareness and call for change. Our activism is borne out of necessity – we are talking about this issue because many of you refuse to take action.”

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