WASHINGTON - August 13 - The Brady Campaign today released a letter to presidential debate moderator  Jim Lehrer, calling on him to ask President Obama and Governor Romney to present plans to prevent gun deaths and injuries in the first presidential debate that will be held in Denver, Colorado. The Brady Campaign has been leading a national conversation on gun violence with an online campaign, www.WeAreBetterThanThis.org, and will ask Americans to join the call for questions on guns in the presidential campaign.

The letter reads:

Dear Jim:

As moderator of the first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado, I respectfully request that you ask President Obama and Governor Romney to present their plans to address the issue of gun violence in our nation, because

•  The debate will take place within 10 miles of two of the most deadly mass shootings in U.S. history: Columbine High School and the Aurora movie theater.

•  Every day in our nation 32 more Americans are murdered with guns.

•  During the next presidential term, 48,000 more Americans will be murdered unless we do something about it.

Since the recent tragedies in Aurora, Colorado and Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a real national conversation has begun, bringing together Americans from across the nation and across the political spectrum, to call for real solutions -- solutions that recognize the Second Amendment right to bear arms -- solutions with the only goal of preventing gun violence.

It is time our presidential candidates listen to the American public, join the conversation, and provide us with their plans.

As a nation, we know we are better than this.  It is time for those seeking our highest office to show that they know it too.

Brady Campaign President Dan Gross explained why the letter to the moderator is so important.

“There’s a dramatic disconnect between what the American people want and what our elected officials -- even our presidential candidates -- are doing about it. Our goal with this letter campaign is to lead the American people in closing this disconnect and in holding elected officials accountable. Until we do that, nothing will change. Once we do, everything will.”

The letter to the presidential debate moderator is hosted at www.WeAreBetterThanThis.org.