In 2000, Brady first held a Million Mom March — the largest gun protest at the National Mall in U.S. history at the time, with over 750,000 people there and thousands more nationwide in 78 cities calling for an end to gun violence. The impact was nearly immediate, said Hamilton: “stalled gun safety legislation sailed through state houses that November including a referendum to close the gun show loophole, organizers led thousands on another march to the polls, and NRA stalwarts were voted out of Congress in 2000 in two states.” “Our calls for change more recently have led to the passage of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the creation of the nation’s first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention — which was led by a woman, Vice President Kamala Harris,” she continued. Despite partisan rhetoric, this issue “unites women across the aisle.” 90% of all Americans in 2019, for instance, supported background checks on all gun sales. A historical record 48,830 gun deaths in 2021 reflected a 23% rise since then, while gun deaths among children and teens rose 50% in those two years — from 1,732 in 2019 to 2,590 in 2021. “Women continue to lead this movement because we’re horrified to see what this epidemic is doing to us and our children,” Hamilton added. “Women from all walks of life will continue to fight this epidemic until we have created a safer future for the next generation by freeing America from gun violence.” 41
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