Moms Demand Action's founder tells Palo Alto: We can make a difference with gun safety

Like millions of people across America, Shannon Watts was shocked by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. As a mother of five, she was particularly upset, and angry that there was nothing she could do to prevent this from happening in other places. Shannon searched on Facebook for a group of mothers working to prevent gun violence, and when she found nothing, set one up, calling it “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.” The response was immediate and viral: within 24 hours, she was getting media inquiries from around the country and thousands of people had joined the group.

Shannon Watts and Sara Smirin in conversation at the Palo Alto Oshman Family JCC

With that simple act, this self-described “mom” created a movement with chapters in all 50 states that is having a measurable impact on laws that impact gun safety and access in the United States.

In a recent conversation at the Palo Alto Oshman Family JCC with local leader Sara Smirin, Shannon Watts inspired the audience with her story about how she started a movement for gun safety from her kitchen table. Here’s a highlight of what we learned…

Shannon knew she was starting a movement

With a background in corporate communications, Shannon said “she knew in her heart” she was starting something big when she set up the Moms Demand Action Facebook page. Given the popular support for gun control and safety legislation (55% of Americans polled said laws governing guns should be more strict), Shannon believed there were many mothers like her looking for a way to make a difference in this area. She was right. Over 400,000 people have ‘liked’ the Facebook page, and there are now thousands of people working through local Moms Demand Action chapters across the country.

For inspiration, Shannon looked at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the group that successfully lobbied for stronger laws about drinking and driving across the United States in the 1980s, and is still going strong today.

Social media gets results when it comes to gun safety

The #burritosnotbullets campaign convinced Chipotle to change its policy

Shannon said she often hears people dismiss what is sometimes called ‘hashtag activism,’ but it gets results by amplifying the impact of individual voices who care about an issue. To raise the safety concerns around ‘open carry’ guns in public places, Moms Demand Action has used Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to put pressure on corporations that allow guns in their stores and restaurants. And these campaigns have worked.

The #burritosnotbullets campaign, caused Chipotle to issue a statement asking gun owners to refrain from bringing weapons into its restaurants, explaining, “the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our customers.”
After Moms Demand Action’s “Skip Saturdays” campaign, Starbucks CEO Harold Schultz published a letter imploring gun owners to leave their weapons at home, saying, “The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers.”

Moms- and Dads- are impacting state laws to improve gun safety

With the lack of action on a federal level about gun safety, Moms Demand Action, in collaboration with Everytown for Gun Safety, is working through local chapters to tackle state-level gun laws, particularly in regard to background checks and open carry. In 2014, Washington voters passed a ballot initiative requiring background checks for gun buyers and closed the loophole at gun shows, thanks to efforts by Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. The group is now working on similar ballot campaigns in Nevada and Maine.

In California, Moms Demand Action was part of an effort to pass a “red flag” law that allows guns to be taken away temporarily from people deemed dangerous.