Everytown, Students Demand Action Respond to J.D. Vance Calling School Shootings a ‘Fact of Life’ 

WASHINGTON — Today, after J.D. Vance called school shootings a ‘fact of life’ in response to the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where a 14-year-old shooter murdered two adults and two children and wounded nine others, Everytown for Gun Safety and Students Demand Action released the following statements:

“After a school shooting in Iowa earlier this year, Donald Trump said we need to ‘get over it’— but just when you thought his campaign couldn’t stoop any lower, his running mate is dismissing school shootings as a ‘fact of life,’” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “The fact that gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens doesn’t seem to matter to Trump and Vance, who would rather cater to the gun lobby than make sure our kids come home to their families every day. The choice this November couldn’t be more stark: Trump and Vance, who accept school shootings as collateral damage to appease gun extremists, or Harris and Walz, who will fight tirelessly to protect our communities.”

“What kind of a response is that from someone with kids? I’m sure ignorance is bliss for Vance, but there’s actually nothing normal about school shootings and they’re entirely preventable,” said Justin Funez, a gun violence survivor and Students Demand Action National Organizing Board member. “He might be fine with allowing gun violence to continue, but our generation will once again channel our anger into action. We’ll vote this November to defeat the Trump-Vance ticket by sending Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to the White House.”

What You Need To Know About Vance’s Record on Gun Safety:

• J.D. Vance has a long record of opposing common-sense gun safety measures — he believes that neither expanding background checks nor Red Flag laws will solve the problem of gun violence. 

• He opposed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and supported arming teachers in classrooms. 

• Senator Vance has called gun violence “fake problems” and efforts to address it “a huge distraction.” 

• The NRA spent nearly $500,000 supporting the NRA-endorsed, A-Rated candidate’s 2022 Senate campaign. 

• Vance advocated for abolishing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).