Brady Expands Endorsements to 8 Gun Violence Prevention Champions for U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives

Washington, D.C., October 16, 2019 — Following the recent endorsement of four candidates for the U.S. Senate, Brady, formerly known as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, is pleased to endorse eight more gun violence prevention champions for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. These endorsements follow a historic 2018 midterm election cycle, where for the first time in a generation the House of Representatives welcomed a gun violence prevention majority. The latest endorsements include:

• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has long been a champion for common-sense gun safety reforms. Sen. Durbin was an early and ardent supporter of the 1993 Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. Since then, Sen. Durbin has continued to work to close loopholes in our background check system, trace recovered crime guns and ammunition, and crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing in order to make neighborhoods safer.
• Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) assumed his Chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee with a focus on the multifaceted issue of gun violence. Under his leadership, the Committee reported out the first two bills to address loopholes in our background check system in a generation. When Congress returned from August recess after a deadly month of mass shootings and daily gun violence, under the leadership of Rep. Nadler, the committee marked up and passed Brady-backed legislation, including an extreme risk protection order bill, a bill that would ban high-capacity magazines, and a bill that would ban those convicted of violent hate crimes from obtaining a weapon. Days later, Rep. Nadler convened the committee for a historic hearing regarding an assault weapons ban.
• Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) has served as Chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) Task Force since 2012 and has been a tireless advocate for common-sense solutions to the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. He is the lead author of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8), which is the first major piece of gun safety legislation to pass the House of Representatives in 25 years. Under his stalwart stewardship, the GVP Task Force has expanded to include 165 members. A lifelong hunter and gun owner, Chairman Thompson understands that we can reduce gun violence and preserve Second Amendment rights for all Americans and is an incredible ambassador of these ideals.
• Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) has introduced legislation that will increase the purchasing age for assault-style semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21. Rep. Brown also introduced The Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act, which will prevent intimate partner homicides by expanding firearm laws to prohibit persons convicted of dating violence from possessing firearms.
• Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) is a new gun violence prevention champion in Congress, first elected with Brady's support in 2018. He is a strong supporter of an assault weapons ban and expanding Brady background checks to all gun sales. Rep. Levin is an ardent supporter of safe storage, and encourages gun owners to practice responsible behavior. Rep. Levin also knows that funding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research gun violence is crucial to ending the public health epidemic.
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) has a deep connection to gun violence. His older sister took her life with a gun when they grew up together in Arizona. In Congress, he has introduced a bill — the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act — to incentivize states to enact extreme risk laws that give law enforcement and families a tool to temporarily remove firearms from individuals at risk of harming themselves or others through a civil court process. Over the summer, Rep. Carbajal partnered with Brady, Team ENOUGH, and March for our Lives in the #WeNeedToKnow campaign, which worked with elected officials to demand the Senate pass legislation that would fund the CDC to research gun violence.
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) supports renewing the assault weapons ban. She believes that these extremely dangerous weapons of war are specifically designed to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Rep. Schakowsky knows they pose a grave risk to our communities, and stands with the overwhelming majority of Americans in limiting the sale of military-style assault weapons.
• Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) grew up in Texas, and has taken a stand for responsible gun ownership while supporting common-sense approaches to reducing gun violence. Rep. Allred supports background checks on every gun sale, keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals and domestic abusers, and keeping weapons of war off our streets.

President of Brady Kris Brown said the following:

“In 2018, activists by the thousands marched, rallied, and voted to elect the first gun violence prevention majority in the House in a generation. Since then, these gun safety champions have answered the calls of their constituents, making historic progress in passing lifesaving legislation that addresses the root cause of this public health crisis. Time and time again, these candidates have proven they can walk and chew gum at the same time, and we are proud to endorse them as they put the issue of gun violence prevention front and center.”

This election cycle, Brady is focused on endorsing candidates who are committed to preventing gun violence throughout statewide and Congressional races. A major focus is on whether candidates support Brady’s legislative priorities, like expanding Brady background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and passing extreme risk laws. A recent Fox News poll found that the overwhelming majority of Americans support these policies, including 90% in support of background checks and 81% in support of extreme risk laws.

Last week, Brady expanded endorsements to seven gun violence prevention champions for New Jersey’s General Assembly. These endorsements are on behalf of candidates in key battleground districts, who are running in contested races against highly-rated NRA incumbents. In Virginia, which is the only election in the country in which control of the state legislature is up for grabs, Brady has endorsed a total of 51 candidates. This latest slate of endorsements brings Brady to a total of 66 gun violence prevention champions.

While these candidates strengthen the chances of common-sense gun reform, the harm of the Senate’s 60-vote rule has long served to block the passage of gun safety legislation. In order to pass meaningful gun reform, Brady believes that #51isFair, and it is long past time for Congress to set aside political games and enact the change that the United States so desperately needs.

Brady is proud to endorse these candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Future endorsements will be announced in the weeks to come and can be found here.