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Everytown Unveils New Arizona Polling, Announces $250,000 Digital Campaign to Pressure State Legislature to Act on Gun Safety

2.10.2020

Everytown Also Unveiling New Survey Indicating Voters in Arizona Support Stronger Gun Laws by an 8:1 Margin and 75% Consider a Candidate’s Position on Guns “Very Important” to Their Vote in 2020

This Week, Everytown Announced $60 Million Electoral Program for 2020 — Double What it Spent in 2018

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced a $250,000 digital campaign to put Arizona state lawmakers “on notice” and pressure them to pass legislation that would close the gaps that give domestic abusers easier access to guns. The campaign, which will feature multiple rounds of ads over the coming months, will begin this week with a $50,000 digital ad buy to support a new ad: “Arizona: On Notice.” The digital ad will target voters statewide, with a focus on suburban women and Latina women voters. 

Everytown is also unveiling new voter research, which found that voters in Arizona support stronger gun safety laws by an 8:1 margin and 75% of voters, including 78% of voters who support stronger gun laws, consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020.

“We are sick and tired of our lawmakers standing idly by while more than 1,000 Arizonans are shot and killed every year,” said Kara Waite, a volunteer leader with the Arizona Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This week we’re putting Arizona lawmakers on notice: They can either listen to Arizonans and pass meaningful gun safety laws, or voters will hold them accountable in 2020.”

Arizona gun laws are among the weakest in the country, with no requirement for background checks on all gun sales, and the legislature has refused to pass common-sense gun legislation in recent years. Instead, the legislature has spent time and energy on firearm-related proposals that would roll back public safety. Just last week, the House Public Safety Committee held a hearing on a risky proposal to arm teachers, which was ultimately tabled due to heavy public opposition. Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action volunteers are now calling on the legislature to act by passing legislation to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers during this legislative session. Thus far, Arizona lawmakers have refused to consider such legislation.

The digital campaign announcement is part of Everytown’s first digital ad campaign pressuring state legislators in 2020, the first since Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund spent $2.5 million to flip Virginia’s General Assembly to elect a gun sense majority in November 2019. Earlier this week, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund announced it would spend at least $60 million on the 2020 elections. 

VIEW THE FIRST AD, “ARIZONA: ON NOTICE,” HERE.

The ad text reads:

One-thousand Arizonans are shot and killed every year.

Arizona lawmakers, you are ON NOTICE.

Tell Arizona lawmakers: Pass effective gun safety laws. Send a message.

A sample Facebook post headline accompanying the ad will read:

Tell Arizona Lawmakers: Protect Women & Disarm Domestic Abusers!

The ad will click through to a landing page, which asks Arizonans to send a message to Arizona lawmakers asking for them to support legislation that would disarm domestic abusers and protect Arizona women from violence.

The digital campaign announcement accompanies the release of a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group on behalf of Everytown. The results of the poll show that voters in Arizona overwhelmingly support stronger gun laws and consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020. 

READ THE SURVEY MEMO RESULTS HERE

The poll found a majority of respondents – including critical swing groups like independents, suburban women, and undecided voters – support legislation that would require background checks on all gun sales (85% support), block domestic abusers from owning guns (89% support), and require domestic abusers prohibited from owning guns to turn them over to law enforcement (90% support). The majority of respondents also supported the enactment of red flag laws, which give family or law enforcement a way to remove guns from someone who is exhibiting violent or unstable behavior (79% support).

Additional key findings include:

  • Requiring background checks on all gun sales is the TOP issue among undecided voters by a 14-point margin. 
  • Voters support stronger gun laws by an 8:1 margin (50% stronger/6% less strong);
  • 89% of voters support blocking domestic abusers from owning guns, and an overwhelming 80% of voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports allowing convicted domestic abusers to own guns.
  • Voters broadly agree that it is possible to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people while also protecting the rights of gun owners (66% possible);
  • 57% of voters would never vote for a candidate who doesn’t support background checks, a mark that ranked third behind only healthcare and national security; and
  • Nearly 60% of Arizona voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes a red flag law, while more than two-thirds of voters are less likely to support someone who stands in the way of background checks for all gun sales.

Global Strategy Group conducted a survey of 622 likely voters, including 342 voters from Arizona Senate battleground districts. More than 1,000 people are killed by gun violence every year in Arizona, and those gun deaths are on the rise, increasing by nine percent between 2008 and 2017.