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Sixteen Democratic Candidates Participated in the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Presidential Gun Sense Forum, One Week After Tragic Mass Shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2019

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(Des Moines, Iowa - August 10, 2019) In remarks today at the Gun Safety Presidential Forum in Iowa, Michael R. Bloomberg said: “We are seeing historic unity in the Democratic Party on gun safety.” Bloomberg, moms, students, and a range of gun safety advocates joined together to urge immediate passage of gun safety laws at the forum, which was organized in the week since the deadly mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. A record 16 presidential Democratic presidential candidates attended in person (plus six candidates by video) -- a turnout that would have been inconceivable in past elections.

Gun safety has become a unifying issue for Democratic presidential candidates like never before. According to a new analysis commissioned by Everytown, the issue of gun safety was cited at the campaign launches of a majority of Democratic presidential contenders for the 2020 nomination, up from zero primary candidates who cited gun safety in the 2008 cycle. In the 2016 cycle, only one of six candidates cited the issue on Day 1.

Earlier this year, nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives voted for a bill to extend and strengthen background checks. In 1993, 69 Democrats in the House voted against the Brady Bill to create background checks.

“The reason for the historic unity in the Democratic Party on gun safety is that we've built a grassroots army with 6 million supporters who have racked up wins in state houses and referenda across the country,” he told the forum, which included volunteers, victims and their families, and a record sixteen presidential candidates. “Now, we've got to take that unity we’ve built and translate it into action in Washington.”

“In the 2018 elections - unlike in years past - candidates all over the country ran on gun safety and won on gun safety. In fact, in the races where we got involved, we replaced 19 members of Congress who had ‘A ratings’ from the NRA with 19 gun sense candidates,” he said.

The Forum had the participation of more than 600 members of the Everytown Gun Safety Action Fund, volunteers with Moms Demand Action, survivors of gun violence, and volunteers with Students Demand Action from across the country.

The sixteen Democratic presidential candidates who attended today’s forum included Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Bill de Blasio, Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. Six candidates joined by video: Cory Booker, John Delaney, Seth Moulton, Beto O’Rourke, Joe Sestak and Tom Steyer.

Candidates discussed their action plans to address gun violence after the recent mass shootings and in response to the daily gun violence that kills 100 people every day and wounds hundreds more.

In 2006 Mike founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns with the late Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, bringing together a coalition of more than 1,000 mayors to advocate for common-sense gun safety laws. In 2014, they merged the group with Moms Demand Action, a network of grassroots volunteer activists created after the Sandy Hook school shooting. Together, they formed Everytown for Gun Safety, now the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country.

More than six million supporters of the organization – mayors, police chiefs, parents, teachers, students, and gun violence survivors – are making the case for common-sense public safety policies that respect the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment and reduce gun violence in communities across America. Mike Bloomberg supports this work with his personal funds.