National Gun Violence Prevention Groups Respond to Inauguration of Donald Trump
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contacts:
Jack Craven, jcraven@bradyunited.org, (917-445-5716)
Noah Lumbantobing, noah@marchforourlives.com (503-804-9487)
Maiyah Alexander, maiyah@cjactionfund.org
Mary Yatrousis, myatrousis@giffords.org
John Kelley, jkelley@newtownaction.org (917-679-6475)
National Gun Violence Prevention Groups Respond to Inauguration of Donald Trump
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 20, 2025 — The nation’s leading gun violence prevention groups responded today to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who pledged on the campaign trail to reverse the Biden administration’s progress on gun violence and enact an extreme “guns everywhere” agenda.
"During Trump's first term, gun violence soared to record highs and guns became the #1 killer of kids," said Kris Brown, President of Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention group. "But Biden's leadership has brought historic progress: violent crime at a 50-year low, a record drop in homicides, and an astounding 25% drop in mass shootings this past year alone. If Trump follows through on his campaign promises to undo this progress - from background check requirements to ghost gun regulations to domestic violence protections – the consequences will be deadly. That's why even Trump's own voters don't support his extreme guns agenda - in fact, a majority of Trump 2024 voters want to see even stronger gun safety laws. At Brady, we will continue fighting to protect common-sense measures to prevent gun violence and save lives."
“The incoming administration’s plans to dismantle life-saving gun safety measures are a direct threat to the safety and well-being of communities nationwide, particularly Black and brown communities, which continue to bear the brunt of our nation’s gun violence crisis,” said Adzi Vokhiwa, Vice President of Policy at Community Justice. “4 years ago, we were grappling with historic levels of gun violence, with Black Americans being ten times more likely to die by gun homicide than white Americans. We cannot go back to those times. Community Justice remains steadfast in our mission to advance a public health approach to gun violence, elevate the voices of survivors, advocate for equitable solutions, and hold policy makers accountable. Our communities deserve better, and we will never stop fighting for a future where every individual, regardless of race or ZIP code, can live free from the threat of gun violence.”
“Throughout the 2024 campaign President Donald Trump bragged about how he did nothing on guns and pledged to overturn the historic progress we have made under President Biden that we know has saved lives. That would be a huge mistake on his part, and devastating to public safety” said Emma Brown, Executive Director of GIFFORDS. “The overwhelming majority of Americans, including Republicans, gun owners, and Trump supporters, support commonsense gun safety policies – and we stand ready to work with allies across the political spectrum to save lives. The legacy of President Trump’s first term is gun homicides skyrocketing and guns becoming the number one killer of kids. GIFFORDS will continue to fight to keep our children, our families and our communities safe. As our founder Gabby Giffords says, we will move ahead.”
“At Guns Down America, we are taking back public life from the gun violence epidemic. Today, there are more people who don't own guns than do: We are the majority,” said Hudson Munoz, Executive Director of Guns Down America. “In times of national uncertainty, courage is found in community—the courage to resist the fear-mongering of the gun industry to arm ourselves, the courage to have tough conversations with our friends and neighbors about the threat of bringing a gun into the home, and the courage to keep fighting for a future free from gun violence regardless of who sits in the White House. The future of this movement is in community power. Federal politics isn’t the only tool in our toolbox. We are moving from a politics of regulation to a politics of rejection. Get involved at the local and state level, have conversations with your friends about gun ownership and the choices we make that can interrupt gun violence.”
“No matter who occupies the White House, people in every corner of this country are rising up to organize and end gun violence in America,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “The power of our movement isn’t defined by one moment. What was true yesterday remains true today: the solutions to this crisis are rooted in common sense and backed by the majority of Americans. “So you’ll find us in statehouses, courtrooms, and neighborhoods, because we know there’s always ground to gain—and we’re not backing down. Not when we’ve saved so many lives, and not when so many more are at stake.”
“A second Trump term is a threat to every single American’s right to not be shot. The first time around, he made good on his promise to be the failing NRA’s “best friend” by letting them hand select SCOTUS justices that have rolled back gun safety laws, blocked commonsense gun laws, ratcheted up racist and violent rhetoric that later showed up in mass shooter manifestos, and more. We take him at his word and believe him when he says he’ll do it all again, and worse, this time,” said Natalie Fall, Executive Director of March For Our Lives. “But we’ve been here before, and we’ve done what they told us was “impossible.” Young people rose up in masses under the first Trump administration, and won lifesaving action against all odds, even in our home state of Florida. We will do it again because we know that we can, and because our lives depend on it. Trump may be dangerous, but he has a powerful enemy in America’s young people. We will keep on marching for our lives.”
“We have been in a marathon fight to end the gun violence crisis for more than 12 years since a 20-year-old with an AR15 hunted and murdered 20 children and six educators in an elementary school in our community,” said Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance. “Over 1.2 million Americans have been shot since the Sandy Hook tragedy therefore the growing group of gun violence survivors and coalition of gun violence organizations will unapologetically fight the Trump Administration’s Any Guns to Anyone Everywhere agenda. The lives of our children and loved ones depend on it and we won’t stop fighting for the sea change that is necessary to dramatically reduce gun deaths and injuries in our nation.”
While gun violence surged to historic highs during Trump’s first term in office, President Biden oversaw a significant drop in the proliferation of unserialized and untraceable ghost guns, the largest-ever decrease in the homicide rate, and a historic amount of funding for Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs. Despite this progress, President Trump has promised to “roll back” Biden’s gun safety measures – actions that would weaken background checks, put more untraceable weapons on our streets, gut protections for survivors of domestic violence, and more.
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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.