Too often, politicians use fear to get what they want. Lobbyist also use the same tactic successfully. Think: “They’re coming for our guns!” When they put fear and money together to advance their cause, it can be very productive. These are the tactics of the National Rifle Association and the politicians in their pocket. Now, there is another gun group to watch out for. Unfortunately for the NRA, it is driven by the families that have lost loved ones to gun violence.
The gun group to watch out for is called Everytown for Gun Safety. While the group has been fighting for stronger, common-sense, gun legislation for a while, they have recently grown stronger. Even though the movement is not new, CNN reports:
“They vow this time is different. They’re no longer a loose patchwork of grass-roots groups that emerge after the latest mass shooting – only to get outspent by the NRA’s war chest, their hopes for “common sense” gun measures dashed. This time, they have the backing of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his $50 million donation. They are Everytown for Gun Safety, which in 2014 brought under one umbrella Bloomberg’s two previous gun groups, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.”
The Everytown for Gun Safety organization is estimated to have three-million members. With those numbers and growing financial power they are able to plan rallies, expand on social media, and focus on field operations. While they use tactics usually seen by the NRA, their biggest mission is to get supporters organized on the issue of gun safety, and then get those supporters out to the polls to vote. This group is gaining momentum, and it will be interesting to watch them organize for upcoming elections.
Now, after every horrible tragedy that occurs due to gun violence, (or at least the ones the mainstream media chooses to report on), there is talk of “doing something” about it. Everytown for Gun Safety seems to be the one group able to meet the challenges that “doing something” poses. On their official website they write:
“Everytown is a movement of Americans working together to end gun violence and build safer communities. Gun violence touches every town in America. For too long, change has been thwarted by the Washington gun lobby and by leaders who refuse to take common-sense steps that will save lives. But something is changing. More than 3 million mayors, moms, cops, teachers, survivors, gun owners, and everyday Americans have come together to make their own communities safer. Together, we are fighting for the changes that we know will save lives.”
This group is serious, and they are making the connections and raising the money needed to fight the NRA, and any other group.
The CNN report puts it best when they write:
“This time, they won’t be silenced. They don’t want to ban guns. Many pack heat themselves. They just want to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, the seriously mentally ill and others who may pose a danger. If enacting universal background checks saves just one life, they ask, then isn’t it worth it?”
