Building A Future With Fewer Guns

-by Igor Volsky

Federal legislative change takes a long time, but a hundred Americans are dying from gun violence every single day. That’s why in 2016 I founded Guns Down America, an organization dedicated to activating influential voices outside of the legislative arena to help build safer communities with fewer guns. Borrowing a page from the successful marriage equality movement, GDA is engaging corporations to weaken the gun industry and its lobby, create cultural change around the gun issue, and build surprising political coalitions that can actually pave the way for the bold reforms we need to truly save lives.

GDA runs two primary programs to build a future with fewer guns.

Our advocacy and campaigns program develops corporate-focused campaigns, including the successful efforts that pushed Walmart to walk away from gun sales, convinced two large insurers to stop underwriting a discriminatory insurance product offered by the NRA, and is driving major banks, Hollywood studios, retailers, and restaurants to lean into gun reform.

Our rapid response program builds powerful coalitions that drive a “fewer guns, safer communities” message in the media at critical junctures.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING FEDEX TO END DISCOUNTS FOR NRA MEMBERS.

In December of 2016, Guns Down America unveiled its first corporate campaign, urging FedEx to stop offering discounts to NRA members. The effort, which we launched in partnership with Color of Change and other organizations, argued that the NRA’s opposition to sensible gun safety reforms led to increases in gun violence across the country and undermined FedEx’s stated commitment to serving, investing, and building economic power for communities of color.

Between the beginning of 2017 and the late fall of 2018, over half a million people signed our petition, hundreds participated in protests in front of FedEx storefronts all around the country, and called and emailed the shipping giant and its CEO directly, threatening to switch to a different shipper if FedEx continued to help the NRA recruit new members.

As a result, the company announced it would be ending its relationship with the gun lobby in October 2018.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING TWO LARGE INSURERS TO STOP OFFERING THE NRA’S #MURDERINSURANCE.

In October of 2017, Guns Down America, in partnership with Color of Change and Sybrina Fulton (the mother of Trayvon Martin), launched a multi-faceted campaign urging two of the nation’s largest insurers, Chubb and Lockton Affinity, to stop underwriting the NRA’s Carry Guard insurance policies. The policies, which were sold through advertisements showing white people killing black and brown intruders, were designed to provide protection and peace of mind to individuals who “stood their ground” by shooting first and asking questions second. The insurance plans covered the cost of removing blood stains from carpets, offered killers replacement weapons and covered certain legal expenses.

Our campaign argued that such plans would only expand unjust Stand Your Ground laws, which disproportionately impact communities of color, and thus undermine the values and brand identity of Chubb and Lockton. The campaign included a moving video featuring Fulton, a large petition drive, social media activation and advocacy and a fly-over over one of the insurer’s corporate headquarters. Within months, both companies announced that they would not continue underwriting the NRA’s Carry Guard insurance plans. As a result of this effort, Chubb and Lockton Affinity faced multi-million dollar fines from Washington State and New York for violating state insurance regulations, sending a clear message about the dangers of working with the irresponsible and corrupt gun lobby.

GUNS DOWN AMERICA SUCCEEDS IN PUSHING WALMART TO LEAN INTO GUN REFORM

In the moments following the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, GDA began publicly calling on the mega-store to become a more active participant in building safer American communities with fewer guns. We argued, publicly and privately, that Walmart’s corporate would be tarnished if, after a mass shooting on its premises, it did not act to prioritize the safety of its customers and employees by re-examining its own gun sales and using its leverage in Washington to fight for stricter gun laws.

Our calls elicited a strong public response and the coalition hosted multiple rallies at Walmarts all across the country, pushed thousands of Americans to hand-deliver “manager’s letters” with the coalition’s ask to local Walmarts, generated $5 million worth of earned media in major national outlets like MSNBC, USA Today and the Washington Post, and broadcast our message to more than 40 local news stations across the country. We also opened a direct channel of communication with Walmart leadership.

On Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2019 on the one-month anniversary of the shooting, Walmart announced they were ending handgun sales in Alaska (the only place it still sold such firearms), significantly limiting ammunition sales, and lobbying Congress on gun reform.



Following our successful effort in pushing Walmart to step away from gun sales, GDA assembled a coalition of over 20 partner organizations and, in December of 2019, launched Business Must Act-- a first-of-its-kind report card that grades the nation’s 29 largest retailers based on how much they’ve done to keep their customers and employees safe from gun violence.

GDA unveiled the campaign with a CNN exclusive. The campaign is now actively engaging with the leadership of several retailers and has raised the grade for one of the stores.

For instance, in May of 2020, after an incident in North Carolina saw armed white nationalist extremists walk into a Subway and intimidate pedestrians, Guns Down America, and several partners, stood up a campaign calling on Subway to ban open carry at their restaurants. The campaign launched a petition that garnered over 50,000 combined signatures and pushed over 3,000 GDA members to individually email top officials at Subway, asking them to ban open carry in their stores. These efforts led Subway to change its policy nationwide in July of 2020.

In light of the murder of George Floyd and the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism, GDA is focusing its Business Must Act campaign efforts on pushing large corporations to invest in Black and Brown communities by, among other things, supporting community-based gun violence intervention programs. GDA has published a document tracking how major corporations have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting companies that have failed to put their money where their mouths are on the issue.

GDA is currently working with on-the-ground service organizations in Chicago and Milwaukee on a campaign that will push household brands that are headquartered in those cities to make long-term investments in the communities they serve.

GDA IS PUSHING BANKS TO STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH THE IRRESPONSIBLE GUN INDUSTRY.

GDA launched the Is Your Bank Loaded? campaign in April of 2019 with the goal of pushing the nation’s largest public-facing consumer banks to stop doing business with the firearm and ammunition industry (until that industry can be fundamentally reformed) and developing a system for flagging large suspicious gun purchases using bank credit and debit cards.

The campaign has successfully pushed several banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, to publicly distance themselves from firearm manufacturers and the NRA and we have begun the process of developing a series of recommendations the financial industry can take to report suspicious large gun purchases to authorities.

GDA IS BATTLING THE CORONAVIRUS GUN VIOLENCE SURGE.

In early March of 2020, as our leaders began responding to the coronavirus crisis, GDA grew concerned by press reports of Americans panic-buying firearms and ammunition in large numbers. We feared that these significant spikes in gun sales would result in corresponding increases in firearm suicides, domestic violence incidents, unintentional shootings and began driving a multi-organizational effort to: 1) educate the public about the dangers of firearm stockpiling, 2) push Congress to address these dangers, and 3) pressure retailers to re-open their stores with new policies that require their customers to leave their guns at home.

Given the rise of armed militias and the prevalence of armed protesters across the country, GDA is also standing up a body of work that will focus on repealing permissive open carry laws in key states and tightening state regulations that allow individuals to bring firearms into the polling booth and intimidate voters on Election Day.





UPDATE From Howie: Florida

After Igor sent his guest post, I contacted some of the best progressive candidates running for office in Florida this year. Why Florida? Remember the NRA massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. That was in 2018. Has anything changed? Please take a look at these perspectives and, if you like what you read, consider chipping in to the campaigns of these candidates by clicking on the 2020 Florida thermometer below.

Adam Christensen is running for Congress in north central Florida and he told me that "A little over 2 years ago my life and millions of others' were changed forever when we turned on our TVs and learned about the shooting in Parkland. Watching kids our age and just a few years younger stand up and say 'if adults won’t fix this then we will' kicked off a wave of activism and determination that has forever changed American politics. Right now millions of young people believe that they have to get involved and speak out because they 'have no other choice' and 'no one else is coming to save us.' There has been a huge shift in Florida to the understanding that any organization or company that actively allows and justifies death and destruction must be fought against. The NRA has stolen millions of dollars and thousands of lives from people across America. It’s time they be shown for what they are, Frauds."

  Joshua Hicks is also running for a Republican-held seat-- this one in the state legislature from Nassau and part of Duval counties. His opponent is the personification of why Florida's gun laws are still killing people. Hicks is also a supporter of Guns Down America. "Organizations like Guns Down America," he told me, "are successfully pushing for change from outside the political system. American companies are now increasingly taking their own actions on gun safety and using their clout to influence lawmakers. That fundamental shift is creating an environment where progress is happening on the state level, even in Florida, which NRA supporters have long deemed the 'Gunshine State.' After the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Republican-controlled legislature passed legislation that raised the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 18 to 21, that strengthened background checks and red flag laws, and that banned bump stocks. It was by no means a perfect bill, but it was a step in the right direction and it passed with widespread bipartisan support. State Representative Cord Byrd is the self proclaimed 'Florida Gun Lawyer' from Florida's 11th District who was one of the few Republicans who voted against the bill. I'm running against him for State House, District 11 to represent the people's interests-- not the NRA's-- and to protect our children and community from senseless gun violence. I believe defeating politicians like Byrd, who is bought by the NRA, is how we create change from inside the political system. There is still much work to be done when it comes to keeping our communities safe and strengthening gun laws in Florida."

Also up in Duval, Angela Nixon is the progressive running for the state legislature in Jacksonville. Moms Demand Action is backing her as a Gun Sense Champion candidate. She told me she's honored and takes that title very seriously, especially having lost her "favorite cousin Breon to gun violence by way of the school to prison pipeline. It’s very important for the Florida legislature to get serious about gun safety in our state. After the Parkland shooting policy was passed that allowed teachers to be deputized. Fortunately for us, the majority of the school districts opted out of what could have been an epic disaster. However, with the state slowly moving to preempt local governments on pretty much everything, it’s important we elect new leadership that believes and supports home rule and promotes common sense gun laws."

Bob Lynch is running for the legislature way in the southern part of the state-- also against an entrenched conservative. "Everyone has their jokes about Florida Man, but thank god he isn’t in an Open Carry State," he laughed with a sense of irony. "The NRA money moving around this state is a disgrace, but we have them on their heels. We made some progress following the Parkland massacre because it became politically untenable for Rick Scott’s Senate run so the GOP threw us a few bones. There is still a lot of work to do. It still remains easier to get a weapon of war in the state of Florida than it is to get a Covid-19 test. Voting for Democrats at the state level will ensure that competent empathetic human beings write our gun laws instead of the lunatic fringe of gun lobbyists. It is worth noting that as the debate on how to safely reopen our schools unfolds, the GOP has put more thought into how to arm our teachers rather than keep them safe from a medical standpoint."

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is running for Congress against one of the House's most corrupt members-- private prison bribe-taker Alcee Hastings, a useless waste of a Florida seat. This morning, she reminded me that "South Florida bore witness to one of the most horrific school shootings in recent memory. Fourteen high school students and three educators were murdered with over a dozen injuries. This tragedy sparked a nationwide debate about gun violence and saw different proposed solutions from both Republicans and Democrats. Lawmakers in Florida voted against statewide background checks and some legislators even suggested that teachers be provided guns to better 'protect' students against school shootings. Arming teachers will only serve to increase fear and violence in schools. Increased physical security measures such as metal detectors and increased law enforcement presence have not been proven to increase public safety, but instead make schools less welcoming for students, particularly students of color. If elected I will support universal background checks for all firearm purchases and I will champion legislation that requires those who purchase a firearm to attend a mandatory safety training course. I will not accept any campaign contributions from the gun industry and I denounce large corporations that fund this harmful industry. We must enact swift measures that prioritize the safety of the American people, not the interests of the gun lobby."