Merger Brings Together Americans From Every Background to Fight For Common-Sense Reforms to Keep Guns Out of Dangerous Hands
Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America today announced their merger into a nationwide movement of Americans working together to end gun violence. The organizations will unite their grassroots, policy and field forces to enact common-sense policies that respect the rights of gun owners while keeping firearms out of dangerous hands. Moms Demand Action will continue its work as a moms-focused organization in partnership with the mayors’ coalition.
“We started this movement as just 15 mayors committed to protecting our cities – and we’ve since been joined by more than 1,000 mayors and more than 1.5 million Americans from big cities, small towns, and all different walks of life” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Gun violence is, unfortunately, an issue that affects every community, and coming together with Moms Demand Action today will strengthen our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and save lives.”
“Gun violence used to be something that happened only in other cities, other communities, but now every mother and every American knows the fear of ‘what if?’ – what if it were my community or my child’s school?” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “That’s why we’ve come together to fight this tragedy – to save our children’s lives, save American lives and protect the places where we all live, work and go to school. This partnership ensures mothers will continue to play an important role in gun violence prevention for decades to come.”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors and 1.5 million grassroots supporters, was co-founded in 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Moms Demand Action, a movement of more than 130,000 U.S. moms with chapters in all 50 states, was launched a year ago this week to demand tougher gun laws in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting. The organizations worked together this year to pass comprehensive background check laws and other reform initiatives in Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and New York.