Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund Announces more than $1 Million August Recess Spend and more than 100 Rallies this Weekend to Pressure Senate to Act on Gun Safety

August Recess Effort Will Include TV and Digital Ads; In-State Meetings with Senators and Staff and Rallies in All 50 States

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, announced their most aggressive August recess effort ever, aimed at pressuring the U.S. Senate to pass legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag law. The effort will include $1,000,000 on digital and TV ads aimed at key Republican Senators and more than 100 rallies, across all 50 states, taking place during the weekend of August 17-18.

“The American people want action on gun violence, and we’re saying so in a voice loud enough for every senator to hear,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We’re unleashing the full power of our grassroots movement and leading our most aggressive August spending effort ever, to ensure the Senate gets the message and passes background checks and a strong federal ‘Red Flag’ law.”

“There is not a parent left in America that doesn’t fear that their child could be next,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “That’s why our volunteers have planned events in all 50 states to make sure our senators know that lawmakers can vote to keep our families safe, or we will vote them out.”

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s August recess spending will include:

• $550,000 on digital ads targeting Senator Cory Gardner in Colorado, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott in Florida, Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue in Georgia, Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis in North Carolina, Senator Rob Portman in Ohio, Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz in Texas, Senator Lamar Alexander in Tennessee, and Senator Mitt Romney in Utah.
• $385,000 on national cable and local broadcast ads targeting Senators Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Rob Portman and Mitch McConnell. The Florida ads will include Spanish language spots.
• $65,000 to support more than 100 rallies taking place in all 50 states during a national Weekend of Action on Saturday and Sunday.

Additional actions taking place during August recess will include:

• Volunteers, survivors and students are meeting with Senate district staff, and have already scheduled meetings with all district offices for top Senate targets.
• Moms Demand Action volunteers are sending letters to every U.S. Senator to request face-to-face meetings over August recess.
• A Week of Action from August 26 – 30, in which volunteers, survivors and students will participate in actions including phone banking, a national social media effort and constituent contacts.
• More than 175 scheduled events with more being added every day.
• A national digital, email and phone call campaign asking people to call and email Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and their home-state Senators to demand action on background checks and Red Flag legislation.
• Attending town halls in every targeted state, wherever they are happening, to demand answers — and action — from lawmakers.

In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to require background checks on all gun sales. To date, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to hold a vote on that legislation. Red Flag bills have been introduced by bipartisan members of Congress in both the U.S. House and Senate.