Post Guns Sit-In: Everytown, Moms, Survivors Continue to Hold Washington Politicians Accountable, Ask Them to ‘Buck The NRA’

NEW YORK —Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the Everytown Survivor Network, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today announced ramped-up efforts aimed at holding several Senate and House members accountable for voting against measures that would #DisarmHate and keep guns out of dangerous hands in the aftermath of the largest mass shooting in modern history that killed 49 people during Latin night at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Over the July 4th Congressional recess period, gun safety supporters will hold events holding the following senators accountable and asking them the ‘Buck the NRA’ and put public safety ahead of politics: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Heidi Heitkamp of North, Dean Heller of Nevada, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Marco Rubio of Florida.

Constituents in the above states and in select House districts will host petition and picketing events outside member district offices or on the sidelines of public appearances while members are back home on recess. Some events have already taken place in Florida, Kansas, North Dakota, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Wisconsin including a well-attended rally outside Senator Ayotte’s Nashua office last week.

“While our elected officials are back home, we are going to remind them that we put them in office to represent us – not the interests of an extremist gun lobby– so we expect them to buck the NRA, vote to #DisarmHate and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “And if they don’t – we want them to know we are not going away and we will remember in November when it comes time for us to vote. They should be on notice: America’s patience to see real action to prevent gun violence has run out.”

Last week, volunteers with Moms Demand Action and gun violence survivors stood for more than 24-hours in front of the Capitol steps to show support for the House Democrats’ efforts and to urge Congress to find a way to pass legislation to reduce the gun violence that kills 91 Americans and injures hundreds more every day. The sit-in came just two days after the U.S. Senate failed to close two critical gaps in our nation’s gun laws, including a deadly loophole that makes it easy for criminals to avoid background checks by purchasing guns from unlicensed sellers online and at gun shows and the Terror Gap, which allows suspected terrorists to legally purchase guns. Supporters also attended nearly 50 ‘thank you’ events for House members who participated in the sit-in this week as part of the National Day of Action. In the weeks since Orlando, Americans made nearly 260,000 calls to their members of Congress to #DisarmHate.