It’s David. I wanted to write to thank you for being a part of this movement and helping us achieve so much in 2024.
When we first marched in 2018, I knew we were launching something special. After celebrating our 6th anniversary in March, I recognize that we have built an unstoppable movement.
Together, we’ve changed the way we talk about gun violence in this country. We’ve made huge strides in federal and state legislation. We secured the first federal gun safety legislation in more than three decades – the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. And we helped establish the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
And our efforts are working. In 2024 we forced Wayne LaPierre out of the NRA and sent their organization into a death spiral. We saw the US Surgeon General declare gun violence as a public health crisis, stating that this is a kids’ issue. And thanks to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, we began to see a decline in gun violence.
But in November our movement suffered a crippling blow. Donald Trump was re-elected and Republicans took control of the House and Senate. These NRA-backed cronies promised to dismantle our lifesaving work.
And while overall rates of gun violence are declining, we still managed to have more school shootings in 2024 than any year on record. Every week we are bombarded with the news of another mass shooting. At times it feels like an inescapable cycle.
It’s chilling that we continue to lose so many young people to this epidemic when we KNOW there are easy, tangible actions our leaders can take right now. They should’ve done it after Columbine. After Sandy Hook. After Parkland. After Buffalo. After Uvalde. After Lewiston. After UNLV.
I’m inspired by all that we can achieve when we work together. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Whether you’ve been with March For Our Lives from the start, or whether this is your first day in our movement, welcome.
In just a few hours, 2024 will come to a close. The confetti and glitter will fly. And tomorrow, we’ll enter the most important year for our democracy and our movement.
I can’t wait to win even bigger gun safety progress with you by our side.
Yours,
David 💙