Wayne LaPierre’s three-decades-long reign as the NRA’s CEO has officially come to an end. Today, he leaves behind a legacy of corruption, destruction, and extremism that has left Americans less safe and more afraid.

To celebrate, here are some of his greatest hits: Multiple former LaPierre allies have claimed that he saw extreme rhetoric as “gasoline” that he could pour on the fire of anger among the most fervent supporters. In 2020, LaPierre signed a fundraising letter which warned of “armed government agents storming your house, taking your guns, and hauling you off to prison.”
everytownresearch.org/report/extreme…

As the country reels from the deadliest mass shooting in 2023 in Lewiston, Maine, it’s important to note that Maine has some of the weakest gun laws in the Northeast, and that state lawmakers have actively rejected efforts to pass common-sense gun safety measures. 🧵 According to our gun law rankings, Maine is missing key foundational gun laws. The state does not:

❌Require background checks on all gun sales
❌Have an Extreme Risk law
❌Require violent domestic abusers to relinquish their illegal guns
❌Ban assault weapons
❌Limit magazine capacity
❌Require concealed carry permits
❌Restrict open carry
❌Have a waiting period

.@POTUS just announced a series of executive actions for gun safety that would save lives ahead of visiting Monterey Park, California.

Here’s what it would do: axios.com/2023/03/14/bid… Biden’s EOs:
-Direct the DOJ to ensure background checks on as many gun sales as possible
-Increase awareness & use of Red Flag laws & promote secure gun storage
-Crack down on rogue dealers & gun makers
-Increase support for survivors, victims, their families & first responders

At least three students were shot and killed and five others were critically wounded last night at Michigan State University. Thousands of students had to shelter in place before the 43-year-old shooter eventually shot and killed himself.
washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02… Our hearts are with the victims, survivors, their loved ones, and the entire Michigan State University community. This never should have happened. For some students, this wasn't their first mass shooting. That is despicable.

While guns are the #1 killer of children & teens, the gun industry markets its products to kids and refuses to make them safer or help keep them out of dangerous hands.

@StudentsDemand is in Las Vegas for #ShotShow2023 with 17 demands for the gun industry—here are the demands:

https://twitter.com/StudentsDemand/status/1615449689964306464

1. STOP making AR-15s and other assault weapons that use high-capacity magazines.

2. STOP marketing to kids and teens.

3. STOP using fear-based ads to sell guns.

4. STOP marketing weapons of war to civilians and using military imagery to sell guns.

LIVE: We've joined survivors of the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade shooting today to announce a set of lawsuits Everytown Law is filing against Smith & Wesson, Bud’s Gun Shop, Red Dot Arms, the shooter, and the shooter’s father. 🧵 This wasn’t just an act of one troubled young man. As the survivors’ complaints allege, the shooter used a gun that was:

- Unfairly & deceptively marketed by Smith & Wesson
- Illegally sold to him by Bud’s Gun Shop and Red Dot Arms
- Negligently put into his hands by his father

The Gun Violence Memorial Project in DC is a powerful, heartbreaking tribute to victims of gun violence. The exhibit features four houses made of 700 glass bricks. Each house represents the average number of lives taken by gun violence in a week in America. 🧵 Inside each individual brick is the name of someone taken by gun violence in this country, along with remembrance objects contributed by their family members.

“Not only did you keep pressure on your federal lawmakers to deliver these historic victories, you never skipped a beat in your state and local advocacy…passing four dozen gun safety laws in statehouses.” -@Shannonrwatts #GSU2022 “You worked with state lawmakers to help unlock a record-breaking $860 million dollars for violence intervention programs. These organizations are on the frontlines of the gun violence crisis.” -@Shannonrwatts #GSU2022

Every day, over 110 lives are stolen by gun violence. Too many of our lawmakers see these deaths and remain unfazed, unwilling to act.

So we're speaking their language. We've broken down how much money gun violence is costing Americans. Read more here:
everytownresearch.org/report/economi… In an average year, gun violence costs our nation $557 billion—five times the Department of Education's budget. While the human cost of gun violence is undoubtedly the most devastating, the economic consequences illustrates just how extensive this crisis is.

BREAKING: @ChrisMurphyCT, @JohnCornyn, @SenatorSinema, and @SenThomTillis just introduced the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It addresses almost every form of gun violence—mass shootings, domestic violence, gun suicide, and community violence.

This life-saving bill will: Enhance background checks for buyers under 21.

This bill would establish an enhanced background check process and investigative period for buyers under the age of 21 who are purchasing from licensed dealers—which would prevent instantaneous sales of assault weapons to teens.

We continue to mourn the lives lost and forever changed by gun violence, including the victims and survivors of the hate-fueled mass shooting in Buffalo.

It’s a stark reminder of why gun safety laws are needed and the cost if the Supreme Court rules in the gun lobby's favor. A decision in the #SCOTUS case NY State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen could come out any day.

The NRA brought this case hoping to:
- create a new, dangerous unrestricted right to carry guns in public
- undermine the ability to enact & defend gun violence prevention laws

Community-based organizations in Buffalo have been working nonstop to meet needs and help residents cope in the aftermath of last weekend's racist mass shooting.

Check out this list of organizations our friends at @CJACTIONFUND have put together to learn more & get involved⬇️ .@Compassion_Fund has started The Buffalo 5/14 Fund to provide direct financial assistance to the survivors of the deceased and those directly affected by this tragedy. nationalcompassion.org/fund/buffalo-s…

During their first year in office, @POTUS and @VP have taken historic action on gun safety. Here’s a few of the things they’ve done to #EndGunViolence. #SOTU There was this set of life-saving executive actions on the growing threat of untraceable ghost guns, increased funding for community violence intervention programs, and more:

https://twitter.com/Everytown/status/1380208070354219014

Nine people died in a horrific act of mass gun violence in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday. Remember their names, not the shooter’s. Give him #NoNotoriety.
nytimes.com/2019/08/05/us/… Jordan Cofer, 22, attended Wright State University where he studied Earth Sciences; he was expected to graduate next year. According to friends, Jordan identified as a transgender man who had shared his gender identity with a small circle of people. splinternews.com/friends-say-th…

On Saturday, 20 people were killed in a shooting in El Paso, Texas. 26 more were wounded. Since then, 2 people died in the hospital.

As more details emerge, we chose to give the shooter #NoNotoriety and instead honor the victims with action and remember their stories. Jordan Anchondo, 25, was a stay-at-home mother to three children. She died alongside her husband, Andre. The couple was in Walmart with their infant son when they were fatally shot. According to Jordan’s sister, she died shielding her baby from the gunfire. The infant survived.

One year ago today, fourteen students and three staff members were shot and killed and seventeen more were injured in a horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Today, we remember the victims, not the shooter. #NoNotoriety Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, a high school freshman and captain of her soccer team, was described by her mother Lori as passionate, intelligent, and kind to everyone.

At her funeral, Lori told Alyssa’s friends: “Honor Alyssa...Be something fabulous in your life. Be her voice.”

THREAD—For too long, a pattern has followed mass shootings like the one in Thousand Oaks: tragedy struck, no federal policy action was taken & the moment passed.

But on 11/6 we elected a historic Gun Sense Majority to the House & more lawmakers than ever who can #BreakThePattern There are common-sense, strategic actions the new Congress can take that would save lives and dramatically decrease gun violence in America, and the first step is passing comprehensive background checks.

URGENT THREAD: A few days from now, *anyone* with a regular internet connection and a 3D printer will be able to make their own untraceable guns in just a couple clicks. This includes terrorists and people who can’t pass a background check. Incomprehensibly, the Trump @StateDept is about to allow a company run by a self-proclaimed anarchist to post its gun blueprints online in files that can be sent directly to a 3D printer to print guns on demand. wired.com/story/a-landma…

THREAD: While we wait for the NRA to come clean about its connections to alleged Russian agent Maria Butina, let’s take a trip down memory lane and explore the twisted web of ties between Butina, the NRA, and prominent GOP operatives. In 2011, then-NRA president David Keene befriended Russian banker & politician Alexander Torshin. Shortly thereafter, Torshin joined with Maria Butina to form a Russian gun rights group supposedly modeled after the NRA called the Right to Bear Arms. newrepublic.com/article/110223…

THREAD: Meet Maria Butina, the lifetime NRA member and Russian national charged with being a spy. Butina is a Russian gun rights activist with close ties to Russian politicians, who for years has cultivated close relationships with American Republican operatives and the NRA.

THREAD: Today we learned that the FBI is investigating connections between the NRA, Russia, and the Trump campaign. For folks paying attention, it’s been clear since 2016 that something was a bit off.

In honor of #tbt, let’s take a look back: In August of 2016, Trump’s rhetoric & behavior caused reliable GOP donors to abandon his campaign, but the NRA *increased* their investment, dropping $3 million on a pro-Trump ad buy.

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