This weekend, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to protest the epidemic of gun violence and push for gun control.
After holding four minutes’ silence, Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez told the D.C. demonstrators to “Fight for your life before it’s somebody else’s job.”
Here are five actions you can take to keep fighting after the march:
Register to vote—or update your voter information
As the saying goes, “Political problems require political solutions.” American gun violence has reached this zenith because of the political inaction—and, in some cases, political interference—of our elected officials. The best way to make change is with your vote—and not just in the presidential election.
By keeping an eye on state and local races and voting for legislators with strong gun control platforms at all levels, we can finally change the tide. You can register to vote at Vote.gov and check your voter registration here to make sure it’s up to date.
Organize
Find a membership meeting of “Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America” near you and contribute to IRL organizing. Have mobility challenges, work nights and weekends or live in a rural area? You can organize by making calls from your home with the Gun Sense Action Network’s Voter Outreach Team.
You can also research which candidates are running for political office in your area and volunteer on a campaign for one that’s strong on gun control. Remember, working on a campaign doesn’t just mean going door to door with a clipboard (though it does mean that too!) Think about what special skills you can contribute.
Are you a design whiz, awesome at social media, the Proust of press releases? Give their office a call; they’ll be happy to have you. You can also get in touch with your local Democratic Party, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), or Republican Party chapter and see how you can get involved with their gun control efforts (or, if they don’t have any at present, *spearhead* their gun control efforts). Most impactful change starts at the grassroots.
Donate
If you have money to give, there are a burgeoning number of groups doing important work on the state and local level; search online to find the organizations working in your area. Here are two national organizations whose work we’re following:
Everytown for Gun Safety was launched in 2014, a year after Congress failed to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Everytown, co-founded and funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, does a range of work, from public education to policy development to direct lobbying.
Everytown is pushing for laws that would keep domestic abusers from owning guns and that would require thorough background checks for each and every gun sale.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence’s goal is to cut gun deaths in half by 2025. Jim and Sarah Brady, gun control activists for more than 30 years, are among those leading the charge to hold major gun dealers accountable, push for legislation that would require gun owners to further secure guns kept at home, and change the culture of gun ownership.
Learn
There are lots of public misconceptions about gun violence and mass shootings in the United States and, unfortunately, there’s also plenty of propaganda in circulation. The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom solely dedicated to covering gun violence, is an excellent resource to use as you educate yourself on these issues.
But if you only have time to read one piece, Jason Fagone’s longread “What Bullets Do To Bodies” is among the most effective and affecting examinations of gun violence in America.
An American Crisis: 18 Facts About Gun Violence — and 6 Promising Ways to Reduce the Suffering, Staff, The Trace
“Counting mass shootings by counting only the dead can underplay the harms firearms impose on those communities.”
What Bullets Do To Bodies, Jason Fagone, Highline
“People have to confront the physical reality of gun violence without the polite filters. ‘The country won’t be ready for it, but that’s what needs to happen. That’s the only chance at all for this to ever be reversed.’”
What to Know About the NRA, Celeste Pewter, Teen Vogue
“As the White House and Congress continue to publicly debate potential next steps for gun control, it’s important to acknowledge the organization’s history and the foundational influence of its estimated 5 million–strong membership.”
In Orlando, as Usual, Domestic Violence Was Ignored Red Flag, Soraya Chemaly, Rolling Stone
“Men killing women intimates and their children and relatives are the country’s prototypical mass shooters; these killings are horrifyingly common.”
Name And Shame
Where do your congresspeople stack up on gun control? Have they taken money from the NRA? Open Secrets’ NRA Congressional Contribution Database has the NRA donation information for every congressperson.
Look yours up, then use social media to name and shame the “thoughts & prayers” jerks. Note too which congresspeople take nothing from the NRA. Change comes slowly, but some congressional leaders are on the right side of history.
