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Feb 2 • 8 tweets • 6 min read
Last week, I had the opportunity to be in Phoenix with hundreds of Arizona @momsdemand volunteers demanding action from lawmakers. Arizona vols have been relentless in their pursuit of a safer state despite an often challenging legislative landscape🧵#AZleg
Despite a pro-NRA governor, last year @momsdemand and @studentsdemand volunteers helped stop SIX bad gun lobby backed bills from becoming law.
These bills included measures that would:
-Allow guns on campuses and in public spaces
-Expand shoot first protections
-Attempt to nullify federal gun laws
-Put the NRA’s dangerous Eddie the Eagle firearm training program in schools
But @momsdemand and @studentsdemand volunteers didn’t stop there. Because when lawmakers are on the wrong side of this issue, we hold them accountable at the ballot box.
The NRA has long claimed to be the “most powerful political force” in Arizona, but in November, @momsdemand volunteers delivered a stunning victory for safety and sanity, ushering in Gun Sense Champions in all the statewide elections.
We helped to elect FOUR @MomsDemand volunteers to the state legislature: @JenLongdon @nancygforAZ @lauraforAZ @christinepmarsh. They’re working with @GovernorHobbs, @SenMarkKelly, @AZAGMayes, @Adrian_Fontes to prioritize gun safety in Arizona.
This is our winning playbook:
Doing the hard, unglamorous work of grassroots advocacy
Building power and changing the political calculus
Beating the gun lobby year after year
Electing our own volunteers to help lead the way on gun safety as lawmakers
And it’s this playbook Arizona @momsdemand volunteers will use in the legislature this year as we fight to stop the gun lobby’s deadly guns everywhere agenda. Thanks to their work on changing the political calculus, we’re not just playing defense anymore.

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More from @shannonrwatts

Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 30
Permitless carry - widely opposed by police - would remove Florida’s background check and safety training requirements. Florida doesn’t require background checks on unlicensed sales so this may be the only background check a person has before getting a gun.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-fl…
This would enable people who currently cannot get a permit to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public, including violent criminals. Under current Florida law, people recently been convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes can’t get a concealed weapon license.
And teens. Florida law requires a person to be 21 years old to get a concealed weapon license. Under permitless carry, people as young as 18 years old could carry guns throughout Florida. 18 to 20-year-olds commit gun homicides at triple the rate of adults 21 years and older.
Read 8 tweets
Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 25
“On that day, over the course of a few hours, three different times — three times — school administration was warned by concerned teachers and employees that the boy had a gun on him at the school and was threatening people. But the administration could not be bothered.”
Although no gun was found in the boy's backpack, a teacher reported to school administrators that she saw the boy put the gun in his pocket before going to recess. Instead of searching the boy, an administrator dismissed the threat, saying the 6-year-old “has little pockets.”
30 minutes later, another teacher reported that a student had come to the teacher crying, saying that the 6-year-old had shown him the gun at recess and threatened to shoot the student if the student told anyone. Administrators again did nothing.
Read 4 tweets
Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 18
OF FUCKING COURSE: The Utah man who fatally shot his wife, her mother and their five kids had been investigated two years prior for child abuse, but local police and prosecutors decided not to criminally charge him.
apnews.com/article/crime-…
Had Utah police pressed charges and had the man been convicted of felony domestic abuse, he would have been prohibited from owning guns and the guns he owned could have been confiscated. Instead, he used his guns to kill his family.
An obituary published in the St. George Spectrum described Michael Haight in glowing terms as an Eagle Scout, businessman and loving father. The obituary made no mention of the killings and was taken offline after backlash.
Read 5 tweets
Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 17
Last week, after relentless advocacy by @MomsDemand volunteers in IL, @GovPritzker signed the #ProtectIllinoisCommunitiesAct into law—a critical gun safety package. But, this win didn't happen overnight. It's the result of years of tireless dedication by our Illinois volunteers🧵 Image
In 2018, @MomsDemand volunteers showed up (more than 500 strong) to the Illinois state house and successfully advocated for the Gun Dealer Licensing Act, SB 1657
Despite polling showing broad support for the bill, then-Gov Rauner vetoed the bill. But that didn’t stop @MomsDemand volunteers… politico.com/newsletters/il…
Read 10 tweets
Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 17
Watching George & Tammy and now this account is dedicated to Michael Shannon fan pics.
Read 4 tweets
Shannon Watts Profile picture
Jan 15
Right. This is a private story about a domestic abuser with easy access to guns in a family of gun extremists now making excuses for the murders of women and children. We should respect their privacy and not discuss the fact that violence against women is a public health crisis.
Definitely don’t say that the presence of a firearm in the home during a domestic violence incident increases the risk of death fivefold, and that more than 50% of all intimate partner-related murders of women were committed with a firearm.
We shouldn’t acknowledge that weak gun laws increase the number of violent crimes committed against women, and that states like Utah with lax gun laws experience some of the highest rates of firearm homicide against women.
Read 7 tweets

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