John–
When I started Moms Demand Action in 2012, gun safety was a third-rail political issue. Elected officials, beholden to the gun lobby, chose inaction because they were afraid of the NRA. As much as a quarter of Democrats in Congress had an A-rating from the NRA.
Today, none of them have an A-rating. But that's not all: Some Republican lawmakers have even started to openly buck the NRA and stand on the side of gun safety.
What's changed since I started this work almost ten years ago? Women.
In the last decade, Moms Demand Action has helped pass dozens of gun safety laws in states across the country, including background check legislation, laws to disarm domestic abusers, and extreme risk laws. We've also worked to stop the NRA from passing bad gun laws at all levels of government.
This change wasn't inevitable. It's the product of years of hard work and progress. It required volunteers to show up and organize. It came from survivors of gun violence turning their pain into purpose so no other family would have to endure the same heartbreak.
Because of those years of work, we've become a force to be reckoned with. Elected representatives from both sides of the aisle are beginning to understand that working to address our nation's gun violence epidemic isn't just good policy; it's also good politics. We've made it clear to them that if they want to win elections, they have to support gun safety.
We still have so much work to do—110 people are killed by gun violence every day, more than 200 are wounded, and gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens.
But if the last ten years have taught me one thing, it's that there's nothing more powerful than an army of angry women.
This November, we'll have the backs of lawmakers who support gun safety.
And for those who continue to choose inaction, we'll make sure they know we'll be holding them accountable at the ballot box.
Thank you for being a part of this movement.
Shannon Watts
She/Her/Hers
Founder
Moms Demand Action
