A depressing trend is emerging from our collective reaction to mass shootings.

Remember the shooting in Texas?

By the time you read this — a month later? A week later? Perhaps just two days later — what happened in Sutherland Springs will be a fading memory (where is Sutherland Springs, again?). We'll have mostly forgotten those who lost their lives and why they aren't here anymore. We won't remember that the youngest victim was 18 months old. Or that the oldest was 71. Or that an entire family of nine was nearly completely wiped out in the blink of an eye.

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Celebrities take on gun silencers and concealed carry laws in a powerful video.

The idea of picking up the phone and calling powerful people in Washington can be intimidating; even Hollywood heavyweights agree.

But it's much less terrifying than it seems — and it can make all the difference.

In a new PSA by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a chorus of celebrities urge viewers to pick up their phones and hound representatives in Congress when it comes to new gun legislation.



Emma Stone, Tunde Adebimpe, Melissa McCarthy, Moby, Bill Hader, and Julianne Moore (among many others) appear in the relatively unpolished but powerful two-minute spot, which was released just over two weeks after a gunman killed 59 people in Las Vegas — one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

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This new law will let Californians know for sure they're not supporting puppy mills.

The puppies and kittens in your local pet store are pretty cute. But knowing where the adorable animals come from can be heartbreaking.

Many animals sold in pet stores come from "puppy mills," large-scale commercial breeding operations that put profit over animal welfare, resulting in unsanitary conditions, cramped cages, and inhumane practices.

A dog rescued from a puppy mill by the South Carolina National Guard. Photo by Maj. Cindi King, U.S. Army National Guard/Wikimedia Commons.

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We the people have the power to change nonsensical bills. Here's how.

North Carolina's wildly unpopular HB2 law has been a disaster. Why'd they do it?

By now, you've probably heard about North Carolina's HB2 "bathroom bill" — or at least the response to it.

Even if you're not typically someone who follows North Carolina state politics (there are only so many hours in the day), it's likely you've seen stories about musicians like Bruce Springsteen boycotting the state, the NBA moving its 2017 all-star game to Louisiana, a Broadway composer speaking out, or the NCAA adjusting its tournament schedule as a result of the March 2016 law.

In September 2016, the NCAA announced it would move seven championship games out of the state. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

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