Country’s Largest Gun Violence Prevention Group Has Endorsed Candidates Who Will Stand Up to the Gun Lobby; Is Working to Defeat NRA-Backed Candidates
MINNEAPOLIS – Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund today announced it will spend $1 million in support of support gun sense candidates up and down the ballot in Minnesota, including Gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz. Walz is running on a platform that includes strengthening gun safety laws in the North Star state, while Walz’s opponent, Jeff Johnson, has been endorsed by the NRA and is beholden to the gun lobby’s extreme “guns everywhere” agenda, even promising to not sign any new gun restrictions into law if elected.
Everytown’s electoral activities in Minnesota will include contributions to political committees as well as independent expenditures through Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund for mail and digital advertisements. Everytown is also announcing endorsements of gun-sense candidates Angie Craig, who is running against Republican Rep. Jason Lewis in Minnesota’s Second District, and Dean Phillips, who is running against Republican Erik Paulsen.
“The people of Minnesota deserve leaders with the courage to buck the NRA and champion common-sense gun laws,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is proud to support these candidates, who are committed to putting public safety ahead of gun lobby priorities.”
Walz is a military veteran who has established himself as a gun-sense candidate. While he previously enjoyed support from the NRA, Walz stood up to the gun lobby following the mass shooting in Las Vegas in October 2017, and donated his past campaign donations from the NRA PAC to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. He has received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction and has expressed his support for criminal background checks on all gun sales and he opposes concealed carry reciprocity legislation before Congress.
Everytown’s electoral spending follows a year of strong support for gun safety legislation in Minnesota. In April, a Minnesota Star-Tribune poll showed 9 in 10 Minnesotans support mandatory criminal background checks on all gun sales. This poll was the second in April to show overwhelming support: A poll conducted by Survey USA, commissioned by Everytown, showed 89 percent of Minnesotans – including 89 percent of gun owners, 84 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats – support requiring criminal background checks on all gun sales.
Since 2014, Everytown for Gun Safety has taken the fight for common-sense gun legislation state-by-state, in partnership with its grassroots arm Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. There has been significant progress in the states, defeating dangerous gun lobby legislation and passing common-sense gun laws that will help save lives. Since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, 18 states ― red, blue and purple ― have passed meaningful gun safety legislation. The selection of these candidates for endorsement emphasizes Everytown’s ongoing commitment to gun safety in states across the country.