If at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again? #VA

Our “leaders” waste time stoking fears about unproven “theories” around acetaminophen and autism, but won’t lift a finger to stop the #1 killer of kids: gun violence. It’s grotesque, it’s irresponsible, and we should be ashamed.

I’ve lived abroad. I’ve heard it firsthand: “I’d love to see America, but I’m scared of the constant shootings.” When tourists avoid America to avoid being gunned down, our leaders must wake up and act. This isn’t freedom. It’s failure.

Sharing videos of shootings doesn’t raise awareness, it spreads lifelong suffering for the families left behind. Gun violence survivor & Brady HR VP Brenda Joiner knows. Her father Robert Godwin’s murder went viral in 2017. Read her powerful op-ed in @usatoday.com. Tragedy is not “content.”

The idea that gun owners might need to use a weapon to protect themselves or their loved ones is a cornerstone of contemporary gun culture, and central to the sales pitches of self-defense-insurance companies. But do these policies promote gun violence?

"The facts show trans people and all marginalized Americans are at disproportionate risk of gun violence." - @darianoutloud.bsky.social www.advocate.com/voices/alaba...

Essay: Child psychologist Ellen Braaten often does media appearances, trying to reassure parents and kids in the wake of school shootings. She used to tell her audience that the adults in their lives do everything they can to keep them safe, but she doesn't say that anymore. We haven’t. We don’t.

"When kids die, checks fly” 💸 After deadly school shootings, gun lobby donations to congressional candidates spike 30% in affected districts and 1,700% near elections. While we shed tears, they cut checks. www.newsweek.com/another-scho...

Guns are the #1 killers of kids. This is a completely preventable tragedy and a uniquely American one at that. I spoke w/ @contrariannews.org's Jennifer Rubin about the gun industry's role, the connection btwn suicide & gun ownership, and how gun sellers prey on young men’s desire for masculinity.

Brady won a historic $62 million verdict in Baltimore against a ghost gun dealer whose reckless practices fueled violence across the city. In my latest Substack I share more about this legal milestone and how it charts a necessary path forward.

We must be willing to ask the tough questions when children gain access to firearms, let alone 23 guns. One simple step can keep children and others safe: storing firearms securely and separate from ammunition. @endfamilyfire.org

If more guns made us safer, we’d be the safest country in the world. Let’s stop pointing fingers and come together to address the real problem: easy access to guns! #endgunviolence #charliekirk #evergreencolorado

I am grateful for the many Minnesotans, including incredible @bradyunited.org grassroots activists, who helped bring about today's Minnesota state legislature committee hearing on action needed following the tragic shooting at Annunciation Church.

Shoutout to Minnesota @momsdemand.bsky.social volunteers in Duluth for joining @bradyunited.org partners to write postcards to their lawmakers demanding action on an assault weapons ban! 💪🏾

We need leaders who will call for peace and unity in this difficult time, not fan the flames of division. Hopeful that others will follow the lead of Governor Cox.

There are many things that Gov. Cox and I disagree on, including gun safety laws, but on this we agree: Regardless of ideology, we must unite against political violence. As lead of an organization founded after a gunman tried to kill President Reagan, I urge Americans to listen to these words.

Now is a critical moment to LOWER the temperature in America. Unleashing even more federal troops onto city streets does just the opposite. We must address the root of violent crime in our cities: unfettered access to guns.

As a survivor and now trauma surgeon, I wrote this piece for @usatoday.com reflecting on the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. Our political disagreements must never descend into violence. Democracy thrives on debate — not bullets.

Reports of gunfire on the UMass campus. Now an active shooter threat at the U.S. Naval Academy. Instead of responding to gun violence with decisive action we get divisive rhetoric. This moment calls for leaders that will promote unity and take action on guns.

Everyone should read these immensely powerful words by the courageous @gabbygiffords.bsky.social.

Several HBCUs are on lockdown today after receiving what some are calling "terrorism" threats. Capitol police are also responding to a bomb threat at the DNC headquarters. While we don't yet know the details of these incidents, we must condemn all acts of hate and violence.

This is a dangerous signal for vigilante violence. Our elected officials should be condemning all acts of violence, not promoting more.

Utah is a “constitutional carry” state, meaning it allows the open and concealed carrying of firearms without a permit. In May, a change in state gun laws made it legal to carry loaded, hidden firearms on college campuses. The state also bans colleges from disallowing concealed carry.

No one, absolutely no one, deserves to be gunned down. And we can all agree on that.

Evergreen tonight. Annunciation 14 days ago. Grateful for @governorwalz.mn.gov’s call for a special session. Now we need bold, meaningful action. #MN

Gun violence doesn’t check party ID. It is indiscriminate. And the American people always lose. We know change is possible. We must stop pretending there are “sides” and fight together to build a safer future. We simply DO NOT have to live this way. Our leaders must

I just saw the video of Charlie Kirk being shot—shared by Rep. MTG. It left me sick. Horrified. We should never normalize turning violence and trauma into content. That is not leadership, it’s exploitation.

I am thinking of the Kirk family, and the Evergreen High School community that also faced a horrific shooting. Gun violence in America endangers us all and we must address it. Now is the time for meaningful solutions not mockery or inflamed rhetoric.

No one in America, including public and political figures, should fear for their safety while attending college events or walking our streets. There’s no excuse for political violence in America. Ever.

Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative activist, was shot today at a political event at Utah Valley University. Political violence is never okay. We must come together to form a united response to America's gun violence crisis.

This is horrific. I’m praying for all who were impacted. Gun violence is a preventable tragedy in every instance. My thoughts are with Charlie and his family.

Corporations are scrambling to shield workers. All because this country’s “leaders” refuse to confront the obvious issue: guns are everywhere, for anyone, anytime. This is not freedom.

We must be willing to ask the tough questions when children gain access to firearms, let alone 23 guns. One simple step can keep children and others safe: storing firearms securely and separate from ammunition. @endfamilyfire.org

Pretty wild to form a commission to look at children’s health issues without ever examining their number one cause of death: gun violence.

Grateful to see Lydia Kaiser released after suffering a traumatic brain injury in the Annunciation shooting. She still faces another surgery and a long road to recovery. Keep Lydia and all of the kids and families impacted in Minneapolis in your thoughts and in your commitment to action.

The ONLY question here: HOW did a child gain access to 23 firearms?

RFK, Jr. is at it again. Every industrialized country has psychotropic medications & video games and yet, they have low rates of gun violence. Actual scientists & public health experts have repeatedly debunked the myths that RFK, Jr. perpetuates to avoid talking about the guns in gun violence.

“Family values”??? A third of women murdered in the U.S. are killed by an intimate partner, most with a gun. What happened to protecting women?

We can’t take our eyes off of the aftermath in Minneapolis. My thoughts are with Sophia Forchas and her family, and I am praying for her full recovery. 12-year old Sophia took a bullet to the left side of her brain during the Annunciation shooting. Please hold her in your hearts.

TUNE IN @ 11 AM: I’ll be joining #MD Delegate Lesley Lopez, one of the leading voices in the fight to end gun violence, on Substack Live. We’ll be discussing recent events and the path forward. @bradyunited.org is honored to partner with Delegate Lopez, and this will be a fantastic conversation.

This is a must read by @trymainelee.bsky.social. We ALL pay for gun violence to the tune of $229 Billion per annum. And the cost to families and communities? The trauma doesn’t end with a bullet. Generations pay the price. While we inherit the trauma and the debt, the gun industry makes bank.

Today, we’re commemorating the 4th annual #FirearmSuicidePreventionDay. We lose 74 people to gun suicide every day in the U.S. By talking about gun suicide and practicing safe firearm storage, we can prevent these tragedies. www.bradyunited.org/act/firearm-...

Our thoughts are with Naz Reid and all who loved Toraya Reid. She was taken in a senseless act of gun violence. This is excruciating and it was preventable.

This is devastating and beyond words. Dorian Johnson—the witness whose words gave rise to “Hands up, don’t shoot”—has been fatally shot in Ferguson, just steps from where his friend Michael Brown was killed 11 years ago. His death again urges us yet again to confront violence in our communities.

We will never forget Harper and Fletcher, who were killed in the Annunciation shooting. Their memories fuel our fight. And like Minneapolis @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social, we must keep calling out the hypocrisy of elected officials who fail our kids and hold them accountable until change comes.

Minneapolis. Savannah. Indianapolis. Richmond. Students in city after city are walking out of school to demand action on gun violence. How many more times will kids have to rise up before our leaders find the courage to protect them?

The script never changes after a mass shooting. The same myths, the same excuses, the same headlines, the same distractions until the next tragedy. My latest Substack rejects those narratives and calls on all of us to face the real issue: THE GUNS.

This really is disturbing. After fatal school shootings, pro-gun PACs increase political donations by more than 30% to U.S. House candidates in districts that have experienced a fatal school shooting. The American people want change but money from special interest groups undermines our democracy.

The shooting at Annunciation Catholic School had me thinking about an article I read not long ago, "Financial Firepower," and how after a fatal school shooting pro-gun PACs dramatically boost their political contributions. I talked w/ @teamenough.org's Stephan Abrams about this disturbing trend.