John–
34 states across the country are deep into their 2024 legislative sessions—and in all of them, we have a grassroots network of volunteers working hard to pass gun safety legislation and defeat bills that make our communities less safe.
Research shows that nearly 300,000 lives could be saved over the next decade if every state in the country had the gun death rates of the eight states with the strongest gun safety laws.
Our volunteers are fighting for our right to exist safely in our communities—and are doing the work day in and day out to ensure that lawmakers don't look away from our gun violence crisis.
Read below to learn about these critical state legislative fights. Then, join us by volunteering in District of Columbia.
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North Carolina
Currently, gun lobby-backed lawmakers hold supermajorities in both state legislative chambers—but we can change that this year. From school boards to the governor's mansion, our North Carolina Moms and Students Demand Action volunteers are gearing up to elect Gun Sense Candidates this November!
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Colorado
Our Colorado volunteers' relentless advocacy made gun violence prevention a major legislative priority last year—but they're still fighting to make their state safer. This year, they're working to pass firearm liability insurance legislation, a gun dealer licensing bill, and an assault weapons ban.
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Louisiana & South Carolina
In Louisiana and South Carolina, we have been hard at work fighting against reckless permitless carry legislation allowing anyone—even as young as 18—to carry loaded handguns in public without safety training or vetting. Our Moms and Students Demand Action chapters testified at both capitals and made over 1,000 calls to lawmakers across the two states. Even in states where the gun safety landscape is an uphill battle, our volunteers have ensured our movement cannot be ignored!
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Virginia
This year, gun sense champions in the Virginia House and Senate got to work passing dozens of bills to keep our communities safe—including a ban on assault weapons and ghost guns, requiring secure storage, and stronger laws to disarm domestic abusers. And last month, over 200 volunteers mobilized at the Bell Tower in Richmond to urge Governor Youngkin to sign these life-saving bills into law.
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Arizona
Some Arizona lawmakers are pushing dangerous gun bills that would force colleges to allow people to carry guns on campus, and would attempt to give people a license to kill migrants who pass across remote farm and ranch land in Arizona—echoing the anti-immigrant ideology that emboldened racist shooters like the one in El Paso. Gun safety advocates are sending hundreds of messages to lawmakers and showing up in person to testify against the bills.
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Illinois
Illinois remains one of our nation's leaders in gun violence prevention policy. Right now, our volunteers are working to promote legislation that would help solve more cold cases and help break the cycles of violence in their communities.
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Georgia & Florida
At least one gun is stolen from a car every 15 minutes. And in Atlanta and Tallahassee, we're doing something about it. Our movement is committed to advancing meaningful legislation requiring guns in cars to be securely stored to prevent firearm theft.
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Delaware
A bill requiring people to apply for and receive a permit to purchase a handgun has finally passed the Delaware House after being introduced three times since 2019. Research shows that permit-to-purchase laws have been linked to a 20 percent drop in homicide rates. This bill will be a massive step toward making Delaware communities safer–and we're calling on Governor Carney to sign it into law.
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This critical work is only possible because of the power of our movement. Together, we can defeat the gun lobby's agenda and save lives, one community at a time.
Join us by volunteering in District of Columbia.
Jose Davila
He/Him/His
Senior Director of State Government Affairs
Everytown for Gun Safety
