Last November, Maine passed the first gun safety ballot measure in the state’s history, as a direct response to the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston.
The measure, which created an Extreme Risk Protection Order law that empowers family members to intervene when a loved one with firearms is in crisis and may pose a threat to themselves or others, was the result of years of inaction from state political leaders.
It was a story we know from the beginning of our work in Washington. Politicians of both parties treated gun safety as an untouchable issue. So we helped the Maine Gun Safety Coalition take this issue directly to the voters, and win by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
When we talk about our work to build state-based power around the country, this is what we mean. Supporting groups like MGSC save lives in their own states. We’re the only national gun violence prevention organization investing in building local power structures, on the ground, supporting state-based groups as they work to save lives in their states.
It wasn’t just Maine. In 2022 we helped Oregon pass Measure 114 at the ballot box, the most comprehensive gun safety ballot measure anywhere in the country, and continue to partner with Alliance for a Safe Oregon.
In Michigan, we’ve helped End Gun Violence Michigan’s work as they’ve sought to pass life-saving gun safety policies in their state legislature.
But, this isn’t just about Washington – and it isn’t even just about our partner states. This model is about building sustained, upwards and simultaneous pressure, like other social movements of the past, so we can force federal action on this issue and save lives.
– AGR
ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY
P.O. Box 4187 Seattle, WA 98194