Brady Campaign Endorses 27 Gun Safety Champions Across Nation

Gun violence prevention organization endorses candidates for Senate, House, and local office from coast to coast

Washington, D.C., August 31, 2018 – As the 2018 midterms draw closer, it is growing clearer by the day that gun safety is both a winning issue and a top priority for candidates across the country. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation’s longest-serving gun safety organization, announced its latest round of endorsements, spanning the entire nation.

For Senate, the Brady Campaign endorsed Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and Sen. Mazie Hirono in Hawaii.

• Sen. Bob Casey has proven himself to be an effective and reliable gun safety champion in the U.S. Senate. He has supported expanding background checks, banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and implementing extreme risk protection orders throughout the country to keep guns out of dangerous hands. He has also sponsored legislation that would ban those convicted of a hate crime misdemeanor from purchasing weapons, a bill he introduced after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.

• Sen. Mazie Hirono has fought on behalf of her Hawaii constituents throughout her career to end gun violence. Just this year, Sen. Hirono successfully fought for the passage of a bill that will clarify the process for military court domestic violence convictions within the federal background check system, a measure that may have stopped mass shootings like the one seen in Sutherland Springs, TX.

The Brady Campaign also endorsed 12 candidates for Congress: Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Mary Barzee Flores (FL-25), Katie Hill (CA-25), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Mike Levin (CA-49), Nathan McMurray (NY-27), Joe Morelle (NY-25), Jessica Morse (CA-04), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), and David Shapiro (FL-16).

• Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09) has authored and sponsored numerous gun safety bills over his career, including legislation following the shooting in Parkland, FL to reinstate a rule mandating mental health background checks for gun purchases. His strong record on gun violence prevention proves that he is someone voters can count on to keep their safety at heart.

• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) has repeatedly and consistently been a champion for gun violence prevention throughout her career, including recently introducing legislation that would block the publication of blueprints for 3D-printed guns. Having met with survivors and victims of gun violence all too often, including in the wake of the Parkland shooting, Rep. Wasserman Schultz knows all too well the importance of fighting for common sense gun safety reforms.

• Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-04) has demonstrated during her time in the Pennsylvania state legislature that she will fight for common sense gun laws in Congress. Having founded the PA SAFE Caucus in the statehouse in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, Dean has vowed to confront gun violence as a public health crisis.

• Mary Barzee Flores (FL-25) will fight to end the epidemic of gun violence in Florida and across the country. She is firmly committed to enacting universal background checks, closing dangerous loopholes at gun shows and elsewhere, and reinstating a federal assault weapon ban.

• Katie Hill (CA-25) knows firsthand that owning guns and supporting gun safety are not mutually exclusive. She supports enacting a federal ban on assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and bump stocks, expanding background checks, and raising the minimum age to buy a gun. Hill is facing Rep. Steve Knight in a race designated by the Brady Campaign as being a top priority this fall.

• Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) is a former high school teacher who strongly believes that responsible gun ownership and common sense gun safety go hand in hand. She will work towards solutions by funding CDC research on gun violence, closing the gun show loophole, and renewing a federal assault weapon ban.

• Mike Levin (CA-49) is committed to expanding Brady background checks to all gun sales, as well as banning assault weapons and bump stocks. He rejects the idea that we should let time go by after a mass shooting with no action, and promises to work towards solving the epidemic of gun violence.

• Nathan McMurray (NY-27) sees no contradiction between supporting the Second Amendment and standing with the 75 percent of Americans who want to see more done for gun safety. He will fight in Congress for universal background checks and for increased funding of gun violence as a public health issue.

• Assemblyman Joe Morelle (NY-25) is running to uphold the legacy of Rep. Louise Slaughter, one of our nation’s strongest gun safety champions. While serving in the state legislature, Morelle helped pass New York’s extreme risk law and the New York SAFE Act, which banned assault rifles, made universal background checks mandatory, and strengthened penalties for the possession of a gun on school grounds.

• Jessica Morse (CA-04) is a responsible gun owner who recognizes that most Americans agree on common sense gun safety measures. In Congress, she will fight to end the epidemic of gun violence through enacting universal background checks and banning military-style assault weapons.

• Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) is no stranger to the Brady Campaign or to the issue of gun violence, having organized buses to help her neighbors attend the Million Mom March in 2000. She firmly believes that lawmakers can both respect the Second Amendment and advocate for gun safety laws, including implementing universal background checks, banning assault weapons, and passing extreme risk protection orders.

• David Shapiro (FL-16) is committed to fighting for Florida’s families by pushing for expanded background checks and closing gun show loopholes. Additionally, he will push for a ban on assault weapons, which are weapons of war that do not belong in places of peace. Challenging Rep. Vern Buchanan, Shapiro is running in one of the Brady Campaign’s nine priority races.

In addition to the Senate and Congressional races, the Brady Campaign and their state executive councils made another set of endorsements today.

The California Executive Committee endorsed:

• Ed Hernandez for Lieutenant Governor

• Jesse Gabriel for California State Assembly, District 45

The Florida Executive Committee endorsed:

• Sean Shaw for Attorney General

• Janet Cruz for State Senate District 18

• Keyser Enniking for State Senate District 8

• Gary Farmer for State Senate District 34

• Debra Bellanti for State House District 60

• Liv Coleman for State House District 73

• Emma Collum for State House District 93

• Margaret Good for State House District 72

• Tracey Kagan for State House District 29

• Tony Mowry for State House District 74

• Tracy Pratt for State House District 71

“With each primary, we’ve seen more and more evidence that voters are making gun safety a top priority in 2018,” stated Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign. “These fantastic candidates are leaders on this important issue, and they will work to get results in office. Now, it’s our job to get them there by committing to vote this November.”

This election cycle, the Brady Campaign is focused on working with and supporting candidates throughout the country who are committed to preventing gun violence. A heavy focus is on whether candidates support Brady’s three-point plan, including expanding Brady background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and passing extreme risk laws.

A resurgent Brady PAC is supporting candidates who commit to making gun violence prevention a top priority and is working to replace candidates who refuse to prioritize the safety of the American public. Brady is doing so through the candidate endorsement process and holding candidates accountable to their questionnaire answers. Brady PAC will target races across the country in support of such candidates, especially in those races targeting candidates who put gun industry profits before the safety of their constituents.

Brady is also focusing heavily on voter registration, particularly of young voters through its student initiative, Team ENOUGH. In addition to its Congressional report cards released this summer on gun safety issues, the student-led group will be holding voter registration events throughout the summer and will work to educate and mobilize high school and university students from now until November. The group is also inviting students across the country to form their own Team ENOUGH groups and host nonpartisan candidate forums.

Last November’s elections in Virginia and New Jersey, where multiple Brady-backed candidates won on a clear platform of gun safety, demonstrated that voters are engaging on the issue and are rejecting those supported by the NRA. And with recent polling showing that half of Americans want gun safety to be Congress’s top priority, it’s clear that this issue will be a leading one throughout the 2018 campaign.

Further endorsements will be announced in the weeks and months to come