‘It’s Our Turn’: Gun-Safety Advocates Surf a ‘Tectonic’ Wave into American Statehouses.

A new generation of young political leaders is ascending to office across the United States by leveraging their firsthand encounters with gun violence to push for policy changes they contend the country is ready for.

Their ascent marks a multi-year shift. Firearms safety has moved from a political taboo seldom discussed on the stump to a core issue that politicians, predominantly Democrats, are now campaigning on successfully.

A Collective Exhaustion Drives the Change

This evolution is fueled in part by a national weariness with gun violence, including mass shootings – like tragedies at a Rhode Island university and Bondi Beach – as well as gun-related suicides and street violence, which continue to tear apart too many American lives.

“This is a problem that has impacted my life,” explained Justin Pearson. “There was something about a legislator and witnessing a lack of action, while remembering the effects in my neighborhood, that compelled me to say this is an issue we must address urgently.”

The day he was sworn in was also the most lethal attack in the state’s history, when six individuals were shot and killed at a Covenant private school.

Expulsion and a National Spotlight

Days later, he and several state Democrats led a protest on the legislative chamber to demand stricter firearms laws. The lawmakers were expelled for their action, an act that catapulted them to widespread recognition. They later were reinstated.

Months later, Pearson’s brother died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This was far from his only experience with tragic death; just years before, his guide and a old schoolmate were also fatally shot in his hometown.

Now, Pearson is running for a federal office by centering firearms safety at the core of his agenda. He emphasizes how it affects the state’s youth, for whom gunshot wounds are the primary killer.

From Activism to Candidacy

The emergence of candidates focusing on this issue is also a result of the growing advocacy network across the nation, which has evolved into a pipeline for political newcomers.

• Maxwell Frost, the nation’s first Gen Z congressmember, started off as a volunteer with March for Our Lives.
• Lucy McBath, a Georgia representative, and Abigail Spanberger, a soon-to-be governor, were both volunteers with Moms Demand Action before entering politics.
• Cameron Kasky, a survivor who was instrumental in national marches, has declared his own run for a House seat.

“I see myself as a piece of a bigger movement. It’s the reason I got into politics,” said Frost. “I was 15 when the Newtown tragedy happened and that’s what inspired me to get involved.”

A Seismic Shift in Politics

Nowadays, challenging gun-rights lobbyists like the National Rifle Association is common among Democratic candidates. But in the recent past, many centrist politicians held ‘A’ grades from the organization, and the subject of regulating guns was considered a political third rail.

“It was a slow process and not linear,” explained a prominent advocate. “We saw our supporters running for office and thought it was logical that someone shaping legislation would want to take the next step.”

Advocates cite the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy and the subsequent failure in Congress to pass reforms as a watershed moment. This led formerly gun-friendly Democrats to risk their high ratings to support limits on high-capacity magazines. Now, having an F rating from the group is a badge of honor.

“After Parkland, no Democratic members of Congress had an A rating and were boasting of it. That’s a dramatic change,” the activist added. “It shattered a lot of misperceptions and anxieties about being gun safety-forward.”

Personal Loss Fuels Political Action

The epidemic of firearms deaths has also activated first-time entrants to politics.

Shaundelle Brooks lost her son in a 2018 mass shooting in Nashville. Years later, another son was shot and injured leaving a music venue. After years of advocating at the statehouse with no response, she decided to run for office.

“Testifying for years and having them just dismiss me, showed me that I needed to do something greater than what I was doing,” Brooks said.

“Knowing you’re directly affected, they feel that you’re more credible to talk about this. They know it’s not a partisan game for us,” she added.

‘It’s Our Turn’ to Lead

These shared stories of tragedy unite advocates across the nation, forming what those affected describe as a “club no one wants to join.”

“We don’t have a formal network, but we all feel compelled in this time to be a part of the solution,” Pearson said of his fellow advocates. “The world is full of entrenched problems. We’ve given people generations to address them. And now, with our the people behind us, the moment is ours.”

He argues that tackling gun violence also requires action on common-ground problems like veteran suicides and housing security, which might find more traction even in Republican-led legislatures. This holistic approach shows that being committed to ending gun violence isn’t solely concerning restrictions, but also about improving the root causes.

“We’re not single-issue candidates,” he said. “We understand the intersectionality of the harms. It’s not just shootings. It’s poverty, environmental issues, deprived communities – these are the places with the highest levels of violence. We need leaders who have proximity to that reality.”

In the end, Pearson contends inaction at the federal level on policies like extreme risk protection orders and cooling-off periods has deadly outcomes.

“Due to this stagnation, people are dying,” he stated firmly. “This problem isn’t going to be solved by repeating old strategies.”