Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America released the following statements in response to the shooting at Ft. Hood today in which four people were killed (including the shooter by his own hand) and 16 were injured. A fact sheet on the 2009 mass shooting at Ft. Hood is available here.
“Our thoughts are with all those at Ft. Hood tonight as another tragedy unfolds among the heroes who have given their utmost for our country,” said Mark Glaze, executive director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “We don’t know all the details, but days like this remind us that killers with illegal guns murder 33 more people every day across America. This March marked the first month in 11 years with no military fatalities in Iraq or Afghanistan. And yet we start the spring with military fatalities on our own home front.”
“Moms’ hearts sunk again today as we learned the news of another shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and their families are in our thoughts and prayers right now,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We send our soldiers into the line of fire, but we don’t expect that battleground to be here at home, as it was again today. While we don’t know all of the facts, we do know that preventable gun deaths are a public health epidemic, and mothers across the country are more committed than ever to doing what we can to end it, once and for all.”
Biographies of spokespeople available for comment and TV interviews (from NYC, DC and via satellite) are below.
John Feinblatt, Chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, previously served as Chief Policy Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Mr. Feinblatt leads former Mayor Bloomberg’s national coalitions on guns and immigration reform. He previously served as the Criminal Justice Coordinator for the City of New York and was the founding director of the Center for Court Innovation, the country’s leading think tank devoted to problem solving justice.
Mark Glaze is Executive Director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Mr. Glaze is the son of a former federally licensed gun dealer in Colorado.
Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, is a 43-year-old mother of five children. Watts was not an activist or involved in gun issues prior to the shootings at Sandy Hook on Dec. 14, 2012. The day after the tragedy, she started a Facebook page called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Since then, Moms Demand Action has become a nonprofit organization with tens of thousands of members and more than 80 local chapters across the country. Ms. Watts’ goal is for Moms Demand Action to become the Mothers Against Drunk Driving of safe gun laws.