I’m (almost) at a loss for words sharing this announcement with you, friend:
President Joe Biden just announced the creation of a federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
This win couldn’t have happened without the non-stop work of young leaders and activists across the country, including everyone at March For Our Lives. After four long years of protests, registering thousands of young voters, meeting after meeting, and MANY Zoom calls…we did it!!!
I’ll share more about the work young leaders did to get us to this point, but first: Please split a donation of $15 today between Leaders We Deserve and Democracy Defense Action to help carry this momentum forward and elect the leaders we deserve.
Here’s why we can draw a direct line from our work to the Biden administration’s new Office of Gun Violence Prevention, friend.
When we talk about electing the “leaders we deserve,” we’re talking about folks like Maxwell Frost, one of our Advisory Board members and the first Gen-Z Member of Congress.
Maxwell served as the first National Organizing Director for March For Our Lives and really helped us level-up our organizing work, especially on behalf of a federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention. We did everything from asking presidential candidates about opening that department if they were elected at our 2020 Gun Safety Forum to sleeping on an office floor in the Virginia House of Delegates to ensure we were able to lobby on behalf of gun violence prevention, while armed white supremacists pointed guns at them through windows.
The very first bill he introduced on the House floor was to establish a federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Republicans blocked it, but he didn’t give up, and neither did we. Even when it became clear that NRA-sponsored politicians weren’t going to let his bill pass, President Biden stepped in. In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Maxwell at the official announcement of the Office of GVP, and Maxwell got to introduce President Biden!!
And when we talk about leveraging the power of the youth vote, we’re talking about years of record-breaking youth voting turnout that led us to this announcement.
In the last five years, we went from having the most pro-NRA president in American history to the most pro-gun safety president in American history. Young people were critical in electing Biden.
Our voices and votes matter. But we need to elect more young people to make sure we build power on the inside and outside of politics
Help us carry this momentum and get more life-saving sh*t done by splitting a donation of $15 between Democracy Defense Action and Leaders We Deserve.
We should celebrate this momentous victory, friend — but it doesn’t mean we can slow down or stop anytime soon.
There is still so much work to be done, from tackling the climate crisis to expanding abortion access to building a country that isn’t run by the rich and powerful few.
There is a long road ahead of us, and we need your help if we’re going to score more wins, elect more young people to office, and stop the fascist takeover of our country.
If you’re celebrating this victory, but are ready for the important work ahead, please split a donation between Leaders We Deserve and Democracy Defense Action to help fund our work.
Thanks for your support, friend. Together, we will keep making the progress we deserve.
David Hogg
P.S. Me when we finally get the Office of Gun Violence Prevention 👇😊
