Gun Safety
Support school safety and gun violence prevention measures. Take action now to make sure state and federal laws prevent gun violence and keep our students safe.
Support school safety and gun violence prevention measures. Take action now to make sure state and federal laws prevent gun violence and keep our students safe.
With the right policies in place that ensure firearms are used safely and legally, we can prevent tragedies. Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund is working to expand background checks on firearm sales, pass extreme risk protection orders, create safe storage laws, and institute high-capacity magazine limits. These policy initiatives, in addition to expanding access to violence prevention programs, can ensure more children are safe from violence.
On June 23, the Senate took a historic step for gun violence prevention by passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, ending nearly 28 years of inaction around this critical issue. Sixty-five senators in total voted to pass this bill, making this an exceptional bipartisan agreement. The next day, the House of Representatives swiftly passed it with bipartisan support as well, and it was signed into law on June 25. Please thank Congress for supporting this legislation.
Background checks are a proven and critical tool to stop gun violence. More than one out of five gun sales happen without a background check1, allowing those at-risk of hurting themselves or others access to firearms. Learn more about the issue.
Background checks have been shown to help save lives. Since the federal background check requirement became effective in 1994, more than 3 million illegal gun sales have been stopped by a background check. Tell Congress you support universal background checks and urge them to pass legislation now.
Extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) empower family members or law enforcement to prevent gun violence and gun-related suicides by filing a petition with the court. We know that 80% of school shooters2 and 70% of people who die by suicide3 talk about their plans before acting. Learn more about the issue.
Statewide ERPOS and federal legislation that provides support to states to effectively implement ERPOs will help stop gun violence before it happens. Add your name to ask Congress to support extreme risk protection orders.
High-capacity magazines allow firearms to be discharged rapidly and repeatedly without reloading, increasing the potential for them to harm more people in a short period of time. Learn more about the issue.
Sandy Hook Promise supports legislation prohibiting the sale and transfer of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. Take action today and tell legislators you support these lifesaving limits.
Millions of children in the United States lived in a home in which at least one firearm was stored both loaded and unlocked. That’s why Sandy Hook Promise supports state and federal legislation that requires and sets standards for the safe storage of firearms.
The safe storage of firearms protects young people from both accidental and intentional gun violence.
Ghost guns refer to homemade firearms that are created by assembling pieces, sold together in a kit or separately, to create a fully functioning firearm. Sold without background checks and serial numbers, unlike firearms sold by licensed manufacturers or importers, they’re almost impossible to trace.
Ghost guns are especially dangerous in that they are completely accessible to people who are legally prohibited from purchasing firearms, including minors. The Biden administration is taking a strong step forward to protecting kids from gun violence by beginning to regulate ghost guns like all other firearms under the jurisdiction of the ATF.
1. Miller M, Hepburn L, Azrael D. Firearm acquisition without background checks: results of a national survey. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2017;166(4):233-239
2. Vossekuil, et al, 2002
3. Robins, E., Gassner, S., Kayes, J., Wilkinson, R.H. & Murphy, G.E. (1959). The communication of suicidal intent: A study of 134 consecutive cases of successful (completed) suicide. Am J Psychiatry, 115 (8), 724-733.