“The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those victimized by yesterday’s deadly attack on Sutherland Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Sutherland Springs now shares a bond forged in horror with the many other communities around our nation grievously wounded by gun violence.

“We are told by some, yet again, that it is too soon to act to end the scourge of violence. But, it is long past the time for action. We would hardly tell a family whose members were struck down by a deadly disease that it was too soon to look for a cure. We would be demanding action, and so it must be on behalf of the latest victims of gun violence.

“There can be no waiting. There are changes we can and must make immediately. We can and must ban assault weapons, as NCJW is trying to do through the Campaign Against Assault Weapons. We can and must ban gun sales without background checks that occur at gun shows and in parking lots, advertised in print and online. Like many other perpetrators of such crimes before him, yesterday’s gunman had a history of domestic violence. We can and must close loopholes that allow domestic abusers access to guns. And importantly, we can and must end the ban on research that gags the federal government and keeps us in the dark about policies we need in order to overhaul our existing gun regulations — state, local, and federal — that now provide legal loopholes you could drive a truck through.”