Everytown for Gun Safety
About Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America, made up of nearly 10 million supporters - Mayors, moms, teachers, survivors, gun owners, students, and everyday Americans who all support making their communities safer. By introducing evidence-based solutions in every town, we can end gun violence.
Gun Violence in Latinx Communities
Each year, more than 4,700 Latinx people are shot and killed in the United States and 13,300 are shot and wounded.
Research indicates that gun violence disproportionately affects Latinx people in the United States, with the second-highest increase in gun homicide rates (45%) since 2019 and a gun homicide rate 2.4 times higher than those of white people.
Still, our understanding of exactly how gun violence impacts specific Latinx communities is limited by insufficient collection of race and ethnicity data, making it difficult to understand exactly how gun violence has impacted the Latinx community.
Consequently, the full impact of gun violence on the Latinx community in the United States is unknown. You can learn more about the impact of gun violence in Latinx communities here.
Key Policy Themes for 2023
- Holding the Gun Industry Accountable: The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer and for manufacturers, distributors, and dealers with irresponsible, reckless, and negligent sales practices that contribute to illegal firearms in our communities. Everytown has advocated for states to pass laws to reject special immunity for the gun industry. In addition, Everytown has supported the enactment of regulations on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and ghost guns.
- Funding for Violence Interventions Programs & Offices: Community Violence Intervention programs and offices work to reduce violence through targeted support and interventions for individuals at the highest risk of shooting or being shot. States have secured $2.02 Billion in funding for CVI programs and offices since 2021, $347 million in new funding just this year, as of late June 2023.
- Redefining Responsible Gun Ownership: Everytown has worked with states to require, strengthen, incentivize, and promote secure firearm storage. Everytown has also championed policies to strengthen permit systems, prohibit guns from sensitive locations, and reforming harmful policing practices that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
- Blocking Illegal Access to Guns: Everytown has supported prohibiting domestic abusers from having access to guns, strengthening or requiring background checks for all gun sales, implementing mandatory waiting periods on all firearm purchases, and prohibiting straw purchasing.
- Addressing People at Risk: We have aided a number of states in passing Extreme Risk Laws. Through temporary restraining orders, these laws allow third-parties to intervene when a person is in crisis and poses a credible threat to themselves or others. Everytown has supported states raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Our work at Everytown for Gun Safety envisions a nation free from gun violence. We recognize that this requires a diverse, equitable, and inclusive staff, volunteers, and partnership network that utilizes the knowledge, skills, and experiences of different groups and peoples. Our work internally fosters principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and utilizes these principles to drive best practices in recruitment, retention, education, engagement, and overall staff growth. You can read more about our commitment to DEI here.
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