John, As the mom of a three year old, I spend a lot of time outside and at the park. My son loves the slides — especially racing his toy cars down them. And he just became brave enough to try the big boy swing. While these moments are the highlight of my week, I’m worried that our trips to the playground could become a place of fear for me, my family, and neighborhood parents. Let me explain why.
As soon as President Trump took office, the gun lobby has been pushing Congress to pass a “national permitless concealed carry” bill. This deadly legislation would create a concealed carry mandate, allowing anyone to carry a loaded, hidden firearm anywhere in the United States as long as they’re able to do so in their home state.
So, even though I am fortunate to live in a state with strong gun laws that require a permit to carry a concealed weapon, this legislation would outright negate that safety check. Anyone visiting from a state with weaker gun laws and no permit requirement could carry their loaded, hidden firearm not just at my neighborhood playground but also at school pickup, the grocery store, the library, the public transportation system, you name it.
This is the scary, but realistic future we face, friend, and it should cause us all to pause.
Lowering the bar for who can carry loaded, hidden firearms in public makes us all less safe. It means parents like me will have to spend their time wondering who is armed and could harm their child. And we know that this fear is based on facts: concealed carry is proven to increase gun violence — in some cases by as much as 15%.
This is not the future I want for my son and my family. I want to build a future for him where we can all live without the constant fear of gun violence. So that is why today — as a mom and advocate for gun safety — I ask you to join me in calling on Congress to oppose this deadly concealed carry mandate.
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In solidarity, Renee Davison Vice President of Communications at Brady |
My son on one of his favorite slides |
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URGE YOUTH: Apply for the Team ENOUGH Youth Advocacy Training Program! |
Remembering the Victims of the Shootings at Saugus High School, Rancho Tehama, and the University of Virginia |
On November 14, 2019, a teen shot and killed two students and injured three others at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA. That same day only two years earlier, a series of shootings in Rancho Tehama, CA, killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others, including five children at the local elementary school. And on November 13, 2022, three students were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at the University of Virginia.
The fact that we are honoring the victims of multiple mass shootings during the same week, just years apart, is not normal. The fact that there have been 209 shootings on school campuses this year alone is not normal. And now with the federal government reopened, we must continue to demand a better, and brighter, future where every kid can go to school without the fear of gun violence. Recently, the Trump administration has made devastating cuts to staffing, resources, and programs and the federal agency responsible for overseeing the gun industry and investigating gun crimes. We need answers on how the administration plans to keep guns off our streets, out of our communities, and away from individuals intent on doing harm.
So today, take action and demand answers from Trump’s Department of Justice on how they are going to protect our children, our communities, and our loved ones, rather than put the profits of the gun industry over our lives. |
A Billion Dollar Industry |
Next week, on November 18, a new documentary will premiere on HBO called “Thoughts and Prayers.” Brady partnered with the creators of the film as they set out to tell the story of the billion-dollar “shooter preparedness industry.”
As communities suffer through the devastating tragedy of school shootings, and lawmakers continue to block actual solutions to gun violence, companies have found a new market selling equipment to “harden” schools in the name of protecting kids. These dystopian accessories include things like bulletproof backpacks, desks that can become shields, and classroom fortification devices. And there are even trainings available that have kids and teachers running tactical lockdown drills, learning how they can either run or fight a gunman in their building, or stop bleeding from a gunshot wound.
It’s a haunting documentary, showcasing how, instead of preventing school shootings before they happen, an entire industry has formed with a focus on preparing for school shootings. We invite you to watch this documentary and listen to our podcast, “Gun Violence Harm Reduction, and Lockdowns, Across Generations,” on the alternative, data-informed solutions to school shootings. |
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