Over the weekend, gun violence prevention activists, survivors of gun violence and allied lawmakers came together from coast to coast to demand that the U.S. Senate pass legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong federal Red Flag law. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers hosted more than 100 rallies across all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, with thousands of attendees.
The rallies were part of a nationwide Weekend of Action organized by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown and follow deadly tragedies across the country, including in El Paso, Dayton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Gilroy, Canoga Park, Newport News and Brooklyn.
One hundred Americans are shot and killed every day while hundreds more are wounded. This is a public health crisis that demands urgent action.
Recess rallies by the numbers:
- 112 recess rallies across all 50 states
- More than 30 members of Congress attended recess rallies
- More than 45,000 tweets using the #RecessRally hashtag and more than 1,200 unique instagram feed posts
Here’s just a snapshot of what Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers did over the weekend:
Moms Demand Action founder, Shannon Watts, joined hundreds in Denver for their recess rally.
Volunteers in Cleveland, Ohio, braved the pouring rain to demand action on background checks and Red Flag laws. and were joined by gun violence survivors, community partners, as well as Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Tim Ryan.
Governor Laura Kelly joined hundreds of volunteers at a rally at the state capitol in Topeka, Kansas.
More than 100 rallied in Salt Lake City, Utah, to demand action on background checks and a strong Red Flag Law.