TODAY AT THE CAPITOL: Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers and Lawmakers Gather at the Iowa State Capitol for Annual Advocacy Day to Demand Passage of Common Sense Gun Reform During the 2024 Legislative Session

DES MOINES, Iowa — Today, February 7th volunteers from the Iowa chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, will gather for their annual Advocacy Day in Des Moines to meet with lawmakers and advocate for gun safety measures to be passed and signed into law during this legislative session. Gun sense champion lawmakers, including Senator Janice Weiner and Representative Lindsay James, will be available throughout the day to speak with press about their push for gun violence.

WHEN:
Wednesday, February 7

WHERE:
Iowa State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319

Advocacy day comes just weeks after a mass shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, perpetrated by a 17 year old shooter, rocked the entire state. A sixth grader and the school principal were shot and killed, and six others, four of them students, were shot and wounded. Since the shooting, Iowa lawmakers have taken minimal actionable steps to prevent further tragedies.

Guns are the second leading cause of death among children and teens in Iowa and an average of 29 children and teens die by guns every year in the state. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children, teens, and college-aged people (ages 1 to 25) in the United States. Every year, about 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded and approximately three million are exposed to gun violence. Children and teens in the U.S. are impacted by gun violence in all its forms. Last week the Associated Press release a report that Iowa has largely not spent any of their promised $75 million in federal funding for school safety.

Iowa has weak gun laws and extremist lawmakers have spent the last decade rolling back the few gun safety measures they once had, including the state legislature’s recent votes to eliminate both its permit-to-purchase and concealed carry permitting requirements in 2021. Just four years earlier, Iowa enacted a Shoot First law. Iowa also sees disparate racial impacts of gun violence that exceed the national average: Black people in the state are significantly more likely to die by gun violence than white people.

More information about gun violence in Iowa is available here.

**Please contact press@everytown.org for more information**

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About Everytown for Gun Safety

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund (“Everytown for Gun Safety”) is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors including moms, mayors, survivors, students, and everyday Americans who are fighting for common-sense gun safety measures that can help save lives. Learn more at www.everytown.org and follow us @Everytown.

About Moms Demand Action

Moms Demand Action is the nation’s largest grassroots volunteer network working to end gun violence. Moms Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families, educates policymakers and parents about the importance of secure firearm storage and works to create a culture of gun safety through partnerships with businesses, community organizations and influencers.

There is a Moms Demand Action chapter in every state of the country and more than 700 local groups across the country. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org.

Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/MomsDemandAction, on Twitter at @MomsDemand and download our DemandAction app at https://momsdemandaction.org/app/.

About Students Demand Action

Students Demand Action is the largest grassroots, youth-led gun violence prevention group in the country with more than 600 groups and active volunteers in every state and the District of Columbia. The movement, created by and for teens and young adults, aims to channel the energy and passion of high school and college-aged students into the fight against gun violence. Students Demand Action volunteers organize within their schools and communities to educate their peers, register voters, and demand common-sense solutions to this national public health crisis at the local, state, and federal level.

Students Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly ten million supporters and more than 700,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.studentsdemandaction.org.