2021 brought a fresh start as the strongest presidential gun safety administration in our nation’s history was sworn in and a gun sense majority took over both chambers of Congress. But 2021 was also a year of colliding public health crises: we continued to confront the deadliest pandemic in a century as well as our nation’s raging gun violence crisis, which claims the lives of 100 people each day and wounds hundreds more.
These crises have compounded each other, and we saw record rates of gun violence, as well as dramatic increases in gun sales spurred by the gun lobby’s continuous fear mongering. 2021 brought some challenges, including gridlock in Congress and the failure of some lawmakers to address this urgent crisis. But there were also significant victories, including life-saving executive actions and important legislative and cultural victories driven by the growing gun violence prevention movement.
Through it all, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, made incredible progress at the federal, state and local levels to keep our communities safe. Our movement has grown to now include more than 8 million supporters, and we have seen significant victories in cities, in state capitols, in the courts and beyond. The fight to end our nation’s gun violence crisis is a marathon, not a sprint, and people from all walks of life are committed to taking the steps needed to forge a better future.
Take a moment to learn about what happened in gun safety in 2021 – and what’s ahead – by reading Everytown’s 2021 Year in Review, which includes such highlights as:
- The unprecedented growth of our supporters, now more than 8 million strong, with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers in every state, finding new and innovative ways to make change;
- Welcoming the strongest presidential gun safety administration ever elected and working with the Biden-Harris Administration to develop its holistic and whole-of-government approach to reducing gun violence – and pushing to make it as strong as possible;
- Continuing to prove that gun safety is a winning issue to run and win on at the federal, state and local level, with Moms Demand Action volunteers running and winning for office across the country;
- Saving lives through secure gun storage educational efforts and reaching more than two million student households with our Be SMART program;
- The NRA’s disastrous year, with declining membership dues, record legal fees, all while mired in several lawsuits and investigations;
- States continuing to pass gun safety laws while defeating NRA priority legislation across the country;
- Ramping up local grant support and capacity building efforts for community-based violence intervention programs, while also working with local leaders;
- Conducting research to inform solutions to gun violence; and
- Taking the fight for gun safety to the courts.
We plan to spend 2022 rolling up our red sleeves and getting to work ourselves. We’re tired of waiting for elected officials to act, and we know the steps we have to take to achieve our long-term mission of ending gun violence in America. Don’t hesitate to reach out for more.