Everytown For Gun Safety Endorses Vice President Joe Biden For President

Vice President Biden Has Spent a Lifetime Fighting to Protect Americans from Gun Violence and Taking on the NRA; As a Candidate, Biden Introduced a Comprehensive Gun Safety Plan 

Everytown has Committed to Spending a Record $60 Million to Elect Gun Sense Champions Up and Down The Ballot in November

The NRA Has Consistently Been Outspent and Outmaneuvered in Recent Years, With Everytown and Moms Demand Action Helping to Defeat 90% of Gun Lobby Priority State Legislation for the Last Five Years and Everytown-Endorsed Candidates Winning More Than 75% of Their Races in 2018

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly six million supporters and more than 375,000 donors, endorsed Vice President Joe Biden for president.

“Vice President Joe Biden is unquestionably the candidate in the race who has spent a lifetime fighting to protect Americans from gun violence while repeatedly taking on the NRA and winning.” said John Feinblatt, head of Everytown for Gun Safety. “From helping pass the bill that established the modern-day background check system, to crafting the Violence Against Women Act, to opposing immunity for the gun industry, Vice President Biden’s long-term commitment to reducing gun violence is crystal clear. He has built on these efforts by prioritizing gun safety in his campaign and in his plan for his first 100 days in office. Americans know Joe Biden — and we can trust he’ll fight like hell for new, common-sense gun safety measures to keep us safe.”

“When every candidate is running on the issue of gun safety, deciding who to endorse becomes a question of who will prioritize gun safety as president, and Joe Biden has a track record that proves that he will,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “I’m proud to support him today, and grateful for the support he’s given the gun violence prevention movement for decades. Our nearly six million supporters and volunteers will be out in force for Joe.” 

Vice President Biden has time and time again prioritized gun safety over the course of his career. He crafted the Violence Against Women Act, helped pass the bill that established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and voted against giving legal immunity to the gun industry (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act). As a candidate, Vice President Biden has pledged to build on this record of accomplishment and act to bolster gun safety measures within the first 100 days of his administration. It is Vice President Biden’s history of action and his aggressive plan for the future that has led Everytown to endorse him.   

Last month, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund announced that they will collectively spend $60 million on the 2020 elections, doubling what it spent during the 2018 elections. In Virginia’s 2019 elections, Everytown was the largest outside investor, spending $2.5 million to flip the state’s General Assembly to a gun sense majority, which has since passed one of the most comprehensive gun safety packages of any state, including a red flag bill and a bill requiring background checks on all gun sales. Since its founding in April 2014, Everytown has grown to a movement with nearly 6 million supporters and volunteers via its grassroots arms, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. Moms Demand Action volunteers have founded more than 700 local groups, with a chapter in every state. And in just over two years, Students Demand Action has grown to nearly 400 groups across the country. 

In 2020, Everytown will leverage its financial and grassroots power to get out the vote for Gun Sense Candidates up and down the ballot. 

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s endorsement process begins by candidates earning the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction. In order to receive the distinction, candidates must complete a questionnaire, which focuses on common-sense gun safety policies, to satisfaction. Receiving the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction is a prerequisite for being considered for endorsement, and nineteen Democratic presidential candidates, including every major candidate still in the race, sought and received the 2020 Presidential Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction. In its inaugural year of 2018, the program recognized more than 3,000 candidates in 48 states, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Of 196 candidates who were subsequently endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund in 2018, 150 won their races.