Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action Applaud Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for Elevating Issue of Gun Violence Prevention in 2020 Presidential Campaign

NEW YORK – Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, released the following statement in response to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s plan to combat gun violence and protect American families if elected president. The plan includes combating gun trafficking at the federal level, passing common sense gun safety measures that expand background checks, close loopholes and prohibit assault weapons and increasing federal resources for stopping gun violence in local communities.

“Sen. Gillibrand’s new gun safety platform is another sign of a political sea change — candidates are embracing the issue of gun violence crisis prevention as never before in the 2020 campaign,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “More and more voters are calling for strong leadership on gun safety — and more and more candidates are stepping up to the plate.”

“We’re grateful Senator Gillibrand has come out with a strong gun violence prevention policy plan,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “2020 presidential candidates are making gun safety a priority in their campaigns, marking a major shift in American politics. Now, any candidate who ignores gun violence prevention does so at their political peril.”

The 2020 presidential cycle has been notable for the number of candidates proudly embracing gun safety as an issue to run and win on. To name just a few:

• Senator Cory Booker unveiled a gun violence prevention plan addressing both gun suicide and gun homicide.
• Senator Kamala Harris announced her intention to take executive action if Congress fails to pass a background check bill in the first 100 days, as well as her plan to prohibit the importation of all AR-15-style assault weapons by executive action.
• Senator Amy Klobuchar released a plan to address gun violence in the first 100 days, including introducing gun violence prevention legislation and directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research gun violence as a public health issue.
• Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper released a plan including background checks on every gun sale, limits on high-capacity magazines and CDC research on gun violence prevention.
• Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke unveiled a plan including background checks on every gun sale, prohibiting the sale of assault weapons, nationwide red flag laws and investing in funding research on gun violence.

Moms Demand Action volunteers are attending candidate forums to elevate the issue of gun safety around the country — and will continue to do so until the 2020 election.