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Guns at the Polls — Literally and Figuratively

11.4.2016

As we head into the final stretch, I want to put on top of your radar some notes about how guns continue to play a central role this election cycle:

  • Gun safety is proving to be a critical issue from the top of the ballot on down. While the NRA is pouring unprecedented amounts of money — now more than $30M — into supporting Trump, Everytown and Moms Demand Action are mobilizing unprecedented grassroots support for and investing in key ballot initiatives and federal/state races that will make gun safety a priority in 2017 and beyond.
  • Reports of concerns about armed voter intimidation at the polls are coming in from across country. In this heated election season, where Donald Trump has encouraged supporters to “watch” polls on election day and the gun lobby continues to double down on its extremist “guns everywhere, for anyone, no questions asked” agenda, it’s sobering that the vast majority of states generally allow people to openly carry guns at polling places. The fact sheet linked here details open carry laws by state providing additional context for this dangerous new brand of voter intimidation.
  • Echoes of Donald Trump’s violence-inciting language with regard to gun violence can be heard in other races — including in swing state North Carolina where voters are now considering Senator Burr’s reckless comments directed at Hillary Clinton and in Oklahoma where state legislator John Bennett appeared to call for executing Clinton in a recent Facebook post.