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Everytown Announces Ad Spend and Grassroots Event to Hold Senator Gardner Accountable for One Year of Inaction on H.R. 8

February 25, 2020

In the Year Since the U.S. House Passed H.R. 8––A Bipartisan Bill to Require Background Checks on All Gun Sales––an Estimated 700+ Coloradans Have Been Killed by Guns. But Senator Gardner and His Colleagues have Failed to Even Bring it to the Floor for a Vote. 

This Week, Everytown and Moms Demand Action Are Holding Sen. Gardner and his Colleagues Accountable for their Inaction and Demanding They Pass Lifesaving Background Checks Legislation.

WASHINGTON — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots network, Moms Demand Action, announced a campaign to hold Senator Cory Gardner accountable for one year of inaction on H.R. 8––a bipartisan and immensely popular bill to require background checks on all gun sales. The campaign is built around February 27, the one year anniversary of the day the U.S. House passed H.R. 8, and will run throughout next week. It will feature digital and print advertising demanding that Senator Gardner pass this life-saving law, and a press conference in Aurora featuring several members of Colorado’s congressional delegation. 

“This life-saving legislation has now been sitting in the U.S. Senate, untouched, for a year,” said Elizabeth Emerson, volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “In that time, more than 700 Coloradans have been killed by gun violence, and twice that many have been wounded––but the Senate has still refused to act. So this week, we’re sending a message to Senator Gardner: your inaction is unacceptable, and Coloradans are watching.”

H.R. 8 is designed to close loopholes in our background check system that enable individuals like domestic abusers and convicted felons to buy guns with no background check and no questions asked. Despite over 700 Coloradans being killed by gun violence every year, and many more being wounded, Senator Gardner has refused to answer questions about the bill, and he does not deny blocking legislation to strengthen the background check system in the past. He hasn’t held a town hall in over two years, leaving Coloradans without any mechanism to engage with him. And his position on the bill mirrors that of the NRA, which gave him an ‘A’ rating in his last election and has donated more money to him than nearly any other member of Congress. 

The print ad will run in the Denver Post, and the digital ads will run on Facebook and on Denverpost.com. 

VIEW THE SAMPLE ADS HERE. 

Sample ad text reads:

“Dear Senator Gardner: 

Over 700 Coloradans have died in the year since the U.S. House passed H.R. 8, a bill to require background checks on all gun sales. 

But you’ve refused to act. 

Meanwhile, Moms Demand Action volunteers have been busy…”

Details about the press conference are as follows: 

WHAT: 
Volunteers and gun violence survivors will participate in a press conference with several U.S. Representatives marking one year of inaction on H.R. 8. 

WHO:

  • Several U.S. Representatives. 
  • Nicole Liabratten, volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
  • Elizabeth Emerson, volunteer with Everytown and survivor of gun violence. Emerson’s son, Jacob, was shot and killed in Arapahoe County on August 2, 2018 while defending a woman being attacked by an abusive ex. 

WHERE:
East Middle School 1275 Fraser St
Aurora, CO 80011

WHEN:
Saturday, February 29, 2020
9:00 AM

Background checks on all gun sales are proven to save lives and associated with decreased rates of homicide, suicide, and gun trafficking. They are also immensely popular, supported by 93% of American voters, 89% of Republicans, and 87% of gun owners. 

These print and digital ads are a part of a nationwide campaign by Everytown targeted at lawmakers in key states who have failed to support H.R. 8, including U.S. senators and representatives in AZ, GA, IA, KY, NC, PA, and TX. The campaign will also feature grassroots events in several of those states, including one on the steps of Sen. McConnell’s Kentucky office, and voter registration drives led by Students Demand Action across the country. 

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