RICHMOND, Va. – Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund today endorsed a statewide ticket of gun sense champions for election this November in Virginia who will stand up for common-sense gun safety measures.
Everytown endorsed the following candidates: Terry McAuliffe, who is running for governor; Delegate Hala Ayala, who is running for Lieutenant Governor; and Mark Herring, who is seeking reelection as Attorney General. All three candidates received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction before the June primary.
“Virginia’s elections have always been a national bellwether, so it says a lot about the strength of the gun safety movement that three gun sense candidates are running at the top of the Democratic ticket,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “These candidates know that gun violence prevention is a winning issue in the Commonwealth, and they also know that Moms Demand Action volunteers will go all out to elect gun sense champions up and down the ballot in 2021.”
“In the NRA’s own backyard, the ground has completely shifted in the last few years, with Virginia becoming home to what gun sense leadership looks like,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We’ve made incredible progress on gun safety in Virginia and our grassroots army of gun sense voters are looking forward to helping elect these leaders to continue that life saving work.”
Heading into November 2019, polls showed that gun safety was the number one issue for Virginia voters, and Virginians cast their ballots accordingly, flipping control of both the state Senate and House of Delegates to gun sense majorities for the first time in nearly 25 years. The legislature then passed a suite of gun safety reforms, from the signing of legislation to address the Charleston loophole to landmark legislation to require background checks on all gun sales.
The endorsement means that these three candidates will have a grassroots army of Virginia Moms Demand Action volunteers supporting them, knocking on doors, making calls and talking with their friends, families and neighbors to help elect McAuliffe, Ayala, and Herring. Moms and Everytown have nearly 300,000 supporters in Virginia, including thousands of volunteers.