Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses 39 Moms Demand Action Volunteer Leaders, Gun Violence Survivors Running for Elected Office
5.19.2020
Last Month, Everytown Announced Its First Round of Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidates Distinctions With Hundreds of Volunteers Participating in First-Ever Virtual Rally
NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund endorsed 39 Moms Demand Action volunteer leaders and gun violence survivors who are running for office in 2020. Since 2017, nearly 100 Moms Demand Action volunteer leaders have run for elected office and dozens have won seats.
“If you want to know how Moms Demand Action became one of the most powerful grassroots groups in American politics, just look at how many volunteers are stepping up to run for office in the middle of a pandemic,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is proud to endorse these candidates, who are proving once again that nothing will stop gun safety volunteers from doing whatever it takes to pass common-sense gun laws.”
“Often Moms Demand Action volunteers meet their elected officials for the first time through our organization,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “And it’s then that they realize they are absolutely qualified to run for office. I’m thrilled so many of our volunteers are moving from shaping policy to making it, and I know every one of them will do everything in their power to help stop America’s gun violence crisis.”
Everytown today endorsed:
- Shawn Only, Arkansas, State House, District 53
- Nicole Clowney, Arkansas, State House, District 86
- Brian Whitman, Arizona, State Senate, District 21
- Jennifer Longdon, Arizona, State House, District 24
- Kathleen Honne, Arizona, State House, District 22
- Daniel Hernandez, Arizona, State House, District 2
- Mia Livas Porter, California, County Central Committee Assembly, District 51
- Mary Parker, Colorado, State House, District 22
- Tom Sullivan, Colorado, State House, District 37
- Scott Hottenstein, Florida, State House, District 57
- Phil Moore, Florida, State House, District 53
- Kerri McGinty, Georgia, State Senate, District 1
- Anne Allen Westbrook, Georgia, State House, District 163
- Maura Hirschauer, Illinois, State House, District 49
- Marie Newman, Illinois, United States House of Representatives, District 3
- Martha Paschke, Illinois, State House, District 65
- Erica Beumel, Indiana, County Commissioner, District 2
- Jo Ella Hoye, Kansas, State House, District 17
- Erin Preese, Minnesota, State House, District 58A
- Lisa Rees, Missouri, State House, District 103
- Laura Loyacono, Missouri, State House, District 36
- Helena Lovick, Montana, State House, District 26
- Christy Clark, North Carolina, State House, District 98
- Elizabeth Becker, Nevada, State Senate, District 18
- Kristee Watson, Nevada, State Senate, District 5
- ChaRon Sattler-Leblanc, New York, State House, District 133
- Rachael Morocco, Ohio, State House, District 67
- Monique Smith, Ohio, State House, District 16
- Andrea Stone, Oklahoma, State Senate, District 47
- Lisa Reynolds, Oregon, State House, District 36
- Alisa Blum, Oregon, State House, District 28
- Shanna Danielson, Pennsylvania, State Senate, District 31
- Jennifer Lugar, Pennsylvania, State House, District 154
- Marlene Katz, Pennsylvania, State House, District 29
- Jerri Green, Tennessee, State House, District 83
- JoAnn Lewis, Tennessee State House, District 86
- Kimberly Peterson, Tennessee, Knox County Commission, District 5
- Jennifer Skidonenko, Texas, State House, District 106
- Deb Andraca, Wisconsin, State House, District 23
Everytown also endorsed seven survivors of gun violence:
- Daniel Hernandez, Arizona, State House, District 2 who is a survivor of the 2011 Tucson shooting.
- JoAnn Lewis, Tennessee, State House, District 86 whose son, Jerod J. Lewis, was shot and killed while driving down American Way on August 3, 2012.
- ChaRon Sattler-Leblanc, New York, State House, District 133 whose cousin, Julie, and her daughter, Jacqui were shot and killed by an abusive partner.
- Jennifer Longdon, Arizona, State House, District 24 who is a survivor of a drive-by shooting in 2004 that left her paralyzed from the chest down.
- Jennifer Lugar, Pennsylvania, State House, District 154, whose husband, Scott Spoor, died by suicide with a gun in Lutz, Florida on September 25, 2009.
- Mia Livas Porter, California, County Central Committee Assembly District 51, whose 26-year-old brother, Cipriano C. Livas, Jr., died by gun suicide in 1992.
- Tom Sullivan, Colorado, State House, District 37, whose son, Alex Sullivan, was shot and killed on his 27th birthday in the Aurora Theater shooting
The coronavirus pandemic has not stopped gun violence. Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action volunteers are committed to continuing to advocate for gun violence prevention amid both public health crises. Moms Demand Action volunteers know that gun violence kills 100 Americans every day and wounds hundreds more – and they are running for office to enact change and stand up to the gun lobby’s priorities.