Yesterday, over two dozen volunteers from Montana Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action called for action on gun safety during their annual advocacy day in Helena. This year’s advocacy day coincides with the celebration of 10 years of Moms Demand Action’s life-saving work to protect our families and communities from gun violence.
“We gathered at the State Capitol because Montanas deserve a government that puts its citizens ahead of the gun lobby,” said Rebecca Squires, a volunteer with the Montana chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Communities across our state continue to be devastated by gun violence and we shouldn’t wait for the next tragedy to strike before acting – the time for action is now. We have lost too many loved ones to the inaction of our lawmakers, we won’t back down from this fight until Montanas are safe in every corner of our state.”
In recent years, instead of passing gun safety measures to prevent gun violence, lawmakers have proposed and passed measures to weaken gun laws such as HB 258, a bill that prohibits Montana state and local law enforcement from assisting in the enforcement of any new federal public safety laws. As we expect debate on bills that seek to weaken gun laws and expand the gun industry’s guns everywhere agenda, Moms Demand Action volunteers will be paying close attention and present at the statehouse as gun violence continues to devastate communities.
A gun suicide death occurs every 49 hours in Montana, the second highest rate of firearm suicide in the country, including the third highest among youths. Montana also has the highest rate of suicide among Latinos in the country and the third highest among Native Americans. Gun violence costs Montana $3.0 billion each year, of which $30.9 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Montana is available here.
If you have questions, or to request an interview with a volunteer from Montana Moms Demand Action about advocacy and gun violence prevention in the state, please reach out to [email protected].