321ACTION: October 28, 2024
In America today, gun violence is unfortunately ubiquitous. The homicide rate in the United States is 26 times higher than it is other developed countries.
Many politicians have thankfully recognized that thoughts and prayers are insufficient to end the scourge of gun violence. Below, you'll find easy ways to identify them.
Ready to make a difference?
Here are three ways to get started:
3. What is a "gun sense champion?"
Gun sense candidates are those who advocate for bold and concrete steps — like disarming individuals who pose a danger to their intimate partners, their families, their communities, and themselves — to combat gun violence.
Gun sense champions do not blame America’s gun violence epidemic on particular communities. Instead, they recognize that America’s gun violence problem is the result of easy access to firearms by those with intent to harm.
2. Learn the Green Flags
The following are policy positions that indicate a candidate supports sensible gun policies:
• Supports policies to disarm domestic abusers and stalkers, including policies prohibiting firearm possession for individuals subject to ex parte and final domestic violence protective orders (including dating partners), policies prohibiting firearm possession for people convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (including dating partners) or stalking, and policies requiring prohibited people to relinquish their existing firearms
• Supports universal background checks
• Supports policies requiring safe storage of firearms
• Supports an assault weapons ban
• Supports funding for community violence prevention intervention programs
• Supports extreme risk orders (sometimes known as ‘red flag laws’)
• Supports holding gun manufacturers and sellers accountable for wrongdoing
1. Learn the Red Flags
• Says things like, "Guns don’t kill people, people kill people," or "the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"
• Supports ‘stand your ground’ laws or permitless carry laws
• Supports concealed carry reciprocity at the federal or state level
• Blames gun violence on mental illness
• Claims that the 2nd Amendment precludes regulation of firearms and firearm access
• Supports arming women or victims of domestic or sexual violence
• Claims that gun access by law-abiding citizens decreases crime
+ In case you missed it...
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, JWI’s VP of Government Relations and Advocacy, Rachel Graber, joined GVPedia’s Armed with Reason podcast to discuss the intersection between domestic violence and firearms.