John–

My sister, Anonda Allen, was shot and killed in 2002. Gun violence struck my family again in 2021, when my daughter, Johnesia Murry, was shot and killed by her boyfriend.

The last birthday either of them got to celebrate was their 29th. Gun violence ended their lives far too soon.

I'm also a survivor of gun violence and domestic violence. I was scared, pregnant, and only 17 when my then-boyfriend held me at gunpoint and threatened to kill me. I survived this abuse, but my daughter Johnesia did not.

Following Johnesia's murder, I became the legal guardian for my four grandchildren and have been raising them ever since.

The vicious cycle of gun violence continues to devastate my family. But I refuse to let this traumatic cycle continue in my grandkids' generation. And so I became active in the Missouri gun safety movement and started volunteering with our state's Moms Demand Action chapter.

The work we do to keep guns out of our communities saves lives. Even in states like Missouri, our volunteers have been able to mobilize—blocking dangerous bills that would have put more guns on our streets and winning more funding for violence intervention programs that keep our communities safe.

This was an important year for the Missouri Moms Demand Action chapter.

Following the tragic shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Superbowl Parade, we defeated a bill that would have expanded our state's dangerous "shoot first" law. Our state lawmakers wanted to make it even easier to shoot first and ask questions never—but we didn't let them.

My grandkids—Angel, Angelo, Angelina, and Angelicia—deserve a future free from the cycles of violence and trauma that have plagued the generations before them.

Everything I do, I do for them, and that's why I volunteer with Moms Demand Action.

Thanks for supporting our movement,

Niadu Allen
she/her/hers
Volunteer
Missouri Moms Demand Action