Over the weekend, volunteers with Pennsylvania Moms Demand Action turned out virtually and across the state to advocate for gun sense candidates up and down the ballot. Volunteers kicked off the Weekend of Action welcoming Vice President Joe Biden to Philadelphia for his town hall on Thursday. Everytown for Gun Safety has endorsed Vice President Biden, who has time and time again prioritized gun safety over the course of his career.
Volunteers continued the momentum into the weekend, finding new ways during the pandemic to support candidates running on gun safety in Pennsylvania. Volunteers joined a socially distanced canvass for Everytown-endorsed candidate Emily Skopov (HD-028). Altogether, volunteers dropped literature at hundreds of households for Everytown-endorsed Paul Friel (HD-026) and Chrissy Houlahan (CD-06), and for Gun Sense Candidates Napoleon Nelson (HD-154), Melissa Shusterman (HD-157), and Christina Sappey (HD-158). And on Sunday, volunteers in every corner of the state joined a virtual phonebank on Sunday kicked off by special guest Dr. Joseph Sakran, the trauma surgeon and survivor of gun violence behind the #ThisIsOurLane movement in response to callous NRA remarks.
After continued inaction by Pennsylvania Republican leadership in both chambers, Everytown has announced a statewide effort to flip both legislative chambers to gun sense majorities. The effort includes:
- A commitment of at least $1.4 million before November 3 to flip both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature to a gun sense majority.
- The endorsement of 21 candidates for Pennsylvania State House and Senate.
- Digital ads slamming lawmakers for inaction. View here.
- The launch of Pennsylvania’s new Students Demand Action Virtual Field Office, focused on registering young voters.
To speak with a volunteer with Moms Demand Action about the work they’re doing through Election Day, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Among those available for interviews:
- Marybeth Christiansen, the volunteer chapter leader of Pennsylvania Moms Demand Action.
- Catie Jacobson, a volunteer with Central Susquehanna Valley Students Demand Action.
- Gina Pelusi, a member of the Everytown Survivor network whose mother, Ruthanne Lodato, was shot and killed in 2014. She is a Pittsburgh resident and volunteer with the Pennsylvania chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
- Michelle Roberson, a survivor of gun violence whose daughter, Bianca Nikol Roberson, was shot in West Chester in a road-rage incident.
