June 7, 2019

Here’s What 2020 Candidates Are Saying on Gun Violence Prevention Day

“Enough is enough.”

Kamala Harris

Richard Vogel/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and the Democratic presidential candidates are lining up to express their support for gun control. Created in 2015 by the group Everytown For Gun Safety, the annual event is intended to draw attention to the shootings that have torn apart families and communities across the country. Many of the White House hopefuls are wearing orange in honor 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed shortly after she performed in Barack Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013.

Gun control had been a relatively low-key issue throughout the first part of the Democratic primary campaign, though that may change now that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has convened a high-profile special session of the state legislature to consider how to respond to a recent mass shooting.

In a statement, Everytown said that Friday’s show of solidarity by the candidates—so far, 13 have tweeted in support of National Gun Violence Awareness Day—is “yet another indication that gun violence prevention will be a marquee issue in the 2020 presidential campaign.” 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has yet to say anything today about the state of gun violence in the country, but he has managed to tweet some things about Nancy Pelosi and Mars. 

 

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate