WASHINGTON – As the Democratic National Convention wrapped in Chicago, one thing was clear: gun safety took center stage. Tonight, in a powerful moment, Moms Demand Action volunteers and gun violence survivors Melody McFadden, Abbey Clements, and Congresswoman Lucy McBath spoke about their experiences and voiced their support for gun sense champion Kamala Harris.
When Vice President Harris accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination tonight, she promised to fight for the freedom to live safe from gun violence. Vice President Harris has called for common sense gun safety legislation like Red Flag laws, universal background checks, and an assault weapons ban.
Yesterday, as Governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination, he noted that he believes in the Second Amendment and he believes that “our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.” Governor Walz is a veteran and a gun owner, and last year, signed a critical package of gun safety bills into law.
“It speaks volumes about Vice President Harris’ commitment to gun safety — and also the political power of this issue — that gun violence survivors were given a chance to tell their stories on the biggest night of the convention, right before she accepted the nomination,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “In framing freedom from gun violence as an inalienable right, Vice President Harris is speaking for the vast majority of Americans — and drawing a stark contrast with the Trump-Vance campaign, which is more concerned with the gun industry’s freedom to keep putting profits over public health.”
“This election is not just about protecting our freedoms — it’s about expanding them,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Whether it’s the freedom to live safe from gun violence or make decisions about our bodies, Vice President Harris is prepared to deliver the brighter future we deserve. The energy we’ve seen this week is a testament to how our movement — and voters across the country — are ready to put in the work, defeat extremism up and down the ballot, and elect the Harris-Walz ticket to the White House.”
“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to tell the world about my loved ones who have been taken in senseless gun violence. It’s everything to me to let the world know their names,” said Melody McFadden, a Moms Demand Action volunteer from South Carolina and member of the Everytown Veterans Advisory Council whose mother, Patricia Ann, was shot and killed by an abusive partner and whose niece, Sandy Patrice, was shot and killed by a stray bullet while at a parade in Myrtle Beach. “While mass shootings make the headlines, daily gun violence is happening in our communities all around us, it just doesn’t make the news. Vice President Harris is a leader I am proud to stand with, because she wants to fight for a future where the United States can be free from all forms of gun violence and can, indeed, be united.”
Gun safety was present throughout the week — on Tuesday, Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala joined Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, for a discussion about the power of reproductive rights and gun safety on the ballot. Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes earlier that morning announced a joint ad campaign highlighting the clear choice in this election: a Trump-Vance ticket that will ban abortion and undo the life-saving progress on gun safety, and a Harris-Walz ticket that will protect abortion rights and take action to keep families safe from gun violence.
Earlier today, Angela Ferrell-Zabala joined other gun safety groups in Chicago for a discussion on different approaches to gun violence prevention and how they’re working to create a safer future.
Last month, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund announced a $45 million electoral program and the launch of a new grassroots voter contact program to help elect gun sense candidates and defeat gun extremists up and down the ballot in key swing districts and states. Everytown’s efforts will focus on young voters on college campuses, voters of color, and suburban women in Arizona, California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.