June 3, 2016
Contact: Candace Rhett                                   

Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund, Moms Demand Action Announce Endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President

NEW YORK – On the day after National Gun Violence Awareness Day when Americans across the country participated in Wear Orange and joined the movement to end gun violence and just days before the final states hold primary elections, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization that includes Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, today announced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president.

“Gun Sense Voters have a champion in Hillary Clinton,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Our litmus test is simple: does a candidate side with the public or with the gun lobby? Hillary Clinton passes that test with flying colors – pushing back against the NRA’s extreme ‘guns for everyone, everywhere’ agenda, and ushering in a new political calculus that saving lives from gun violence is a winning issue.”

“Moms and survivors across the country have been on the campaign trail for months, pushing gun safety to the top of the 2016 agenda by asking all of the candidates how they’ll address our nation’s gun violence crisis,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Moms and survivors will elect Secretary Clinton as the first gun sense president. We’re proving that gun safety is a winning issue because Americans demand it. And we’re putting politicians on notice: Women are the majority of the voting electorate and we will use our voices and votes this year to change our country’s culture of gun violence. We will not stand by while our children, families and communities are put in the line of fire by a greedy gun lobby.”

“On Tuesday, I will vote for Hillary Clinton for president because she is the only candidate who fights for gun violence survivors and stands up against the extremist gun lobby,” said Richard Martinez, an Outreach Associate with Everytown for Gun Safety whose son Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez was killed in the May 2014 shooting in Isla Vista near UC Santa Barbara. “After Chris was killed, I vowed to do everything in my power to keep others from experiencing the pain of having a loved one’s life cut short by senseless gun violence – not one more should die this way. Next week I will exercise my power in the voting booth to elect a president who will work to reduce gun violence in America.”

In addition to electing Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States, Everytown’s 2016 Gun Sense Agenda also endeavors to:

• Pass ballot initiatives to require criminal background checks on all gun sales in Maine and Nevada.
• Repeat the success of the background check ballot initiative victory in 2014, passing a new ballot initiative in Washington
• State that empowers family members and law enforcement to help prevent tragedies and save lives.
• Stand up for candidates in federal and local races who support gun safety and hold elected officials accountable for refusing to support common-sense policies that will save American lives.

With the final primaries in six states (CA, MT, NJ, NM, ND and SD) approaching on Tuesday, the following national and state-based spokespeople and volunteers are available for interviews to discuss the endorsement announcement and gun politics in the 2016 election:

National

• John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety
• Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety

California

• Caitlin King, volunteer leader of the California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
• Richard Martinez, father of Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, killed in the Isla Vista shooting on May 23, 2014 and Senior Associate with Everytown for Gun Safety
• Tina Meins, a gun violence survivor whose father Damian was killed by one of his co-workers with an AR-15 during the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015
• Clare Senchyna, a gun violence survivor whose 26-year old son Camillo was shot and killed outside a club in San Francisco on December 7, 2014

Montana

• Pamela Owen, volunteer leader of the Montana chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

New Jersey

• Meghan Adamoli, volunteer leader of the New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
• Charlene Hoverter, a gun violence survivor whose sister, Diane, was shot and killed in an attempted robbery in July 1986.

New Mexico

• Maggie Byers, volunteer leader of the New Mexico chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

North Dakota

• Kathy Lee, volunteer with the North Dakota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

South Dakota

• Julie Parker, volunteer leader of the South Dakota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

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June 3, 2016

Hillary Clinton Statement on the Endorsement of Everytown for Gun Safety, including Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Following the endorsement of Everytown for Gun Safety, including Moms Demand Action, an organization fighting for commonsense reforms to prevent gun violence, Hillary Clinton issued the following statement:

"Every year, 33,000 Americans die from guns. That’s an average of 90 per day. Countless others are injured. Too many of them are children. They are shot in small towns and in big cities. Sitting in a park with their friends.
Riding the bus home from school. Watching TV in their living rooms. Working at their desks. They are our friends, our neighbors, our family.

"Across our country, Americans are standing up and saying: enough is enough. Mothers and fathers, survivors and students, mayors and responsible gun owners are demanding that we put the safety of our children and our communities ahead of the interests of the gun lobby.

"As a mother and a grandmother, I know nothing is more important than keeping our children safe. And I am honored to receive the endorsement of Everytown for Gun Safety, including Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. They are fighting every day for commonsense gun safety measures and to end the epidemic of gun violence.

"The stakes in this election could not be higher. We need leaders in Washington who will close the loopholes that let guns fall into the wrong hands, and who will finally pass comprehensive background check legislation.  We need leaders who will repeal the special legal immunity that the gun lobby secured for irresponsible gun makers and sellers, so they are finally held accountable for their products. What we don’t need are the extreme and dangerous positions of Donald Trump, who has pledged to overturn President Obama’s actions to strengthen background checks and mandate that every school in America allow guns in classrooms on his very first day in office.

"The gun lobby may be the most powerful lobby in Washington, but I believe that the American people are more powerful still. We are stronger together. We will not be intimidated. We will not back down. And as long as children anywhere are being killed by gun violence, we will keep fighting—because their lives are precious, and they deserve a president who stands up for them."

For Immediate Release, June 3, 2016