‘The Time Has Come’: Gun-Safety Activists Ride a ‘Seismic’ Wave into American Statehouses.

A new generation of young political leaders is gaining power across the nation by channeling their firsthand encounters with gun violence to advocate for reforms they believe the public is demanding.

Their ascent marks a nearly decade-long shift. Firearms safety has moved from a third-rail issue rarely spoken about on campaign trails to a core issue that politicians, predominantly from the Democratic party, are now running – and winning – on.

A Collective Exhaustion Drives the Change

This change is driven partly by a collective exhaustion with firearms deaths, encompassing large-scale attacks – like tragedies at a Rhode Island university and a Sydney beach – as well as firearms suicides and street violence, which persist in devastating too many American lives.

“It’s been an issue that has directly touched me,” explained Justin Pearson. “There was something about a legislator and seeing a lack of action, while recalling the impact in my neighborhood, that pushed me to say this is an issue we must address urgently.”

The day he was took office coincided with the most lethal attack in the state’s history, when six individuals were murdered at a Nashville school.

From Protest to Prominence

Shortly after, he and two other state Democrats staged a demonstration on the house floor to call for stricter firearms laws. Pearson and his colleague were removed from office for their protest, an act that catapulted them to widespread recognition. They eventually were reinstated.

Months later, Pearson’s brother was lost to a firearm suicide. This was far from his only encounter with tragic death; just years before, his guide and a old schoolmate were also fatally shot in his hometown.

Now, he is campaigning for a seat in the US Congress by placing firearms safety at the core of his agenda. He emphasizes how it affects the state’s youth, for whom firearms injuries are the leading cause of death.

From Activism to Candidacy

The rise of office-seekers centering this issue is also a result of the growing prevention movement across the nation, which has evolved into a pipeline for new candidates.

• Maxwell Frost, the country’s first Gen Z congressmember, started off as a activist with a student-led gun-safety group.
• Lucy McBath, a Congresswoman, and Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia governor-elect, were both involved with Moms Demand Action before entering politics.
• Cameron Kasky, a Parkland survivor who was instrumental in student protests, has declared his own run for Congress.

“I see myself as a small part of a bigger movement. It’s the driving force I got into politics,” said the congressman. “I was 15 when Sandy Hook happened and that’s what inspired me to get involved.”

From Third Rail to Talking Point

Nowadays, calling out pro-gun groups like the NRA is common among Democratic candidates. But less than 15 years ago, many centrist politicians held high ratings from the organization, and the subject of regulating guns was considered a political third rail.

“It was a slow process and full of ups and downs,” said a violence-prevention activist. “We saw our volunteers seeking election and thought it was common sense that someone advocating for laws would want to become a lawmaker.”

Advocates cite the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy and the lack of action in Washington to pass gun-safety policies as a watershed moment. This pushed formerly gun-friendly Democrats to risk their favorable scores to support restrictions on assault weapons. Now, receiving a poor grade from the group is a point of pride.

“After Parkland, zero Democratic members of Congress had an A rating and were proud about it. That’s a seismic shift,” the advocate added. “It shattered a lot of misperceptions and anxieties about being gun safety-forward.”

Personal Loss Fuels Political Action

The epidemic of firearms deaths has also activated first-time entrants to public service.

A Tennessee mother lost her son in a 2018 mass shooting in the city. Years later, another son was shot and injured leaving a music venue. After years of advocating at the capitol with little result, she chose to become a candidate herself.

“Coming up here for seven years and having them just ignoring me, showed me that I needed to do something greater than what I was doing,” Brooks said.

“When people see you’re personally impacted, they feel that you’re more credible to talk about this. They know it’s not a partisan game for us,” she added.

A New Generation’s Call

These personal experiences of loss connect advocates across the country, forming what victims and survivors describe as a “club no one wants to join.”

“We don’t have a formal network, but we all feel called in this time to be a part of the solution,” Pearson said of his fellow advocates. “The world is riddled with entrenched problems. We’ve given people generations to solve them. And now, with our constituents’ support, the moment is ours.”

Pearson argues that addressing gun violence also requires focusing on common-ground problems like veteran suicides and economic stability, which might find more traction even in conservative legislatures. This holistic approach shows that being focused on ending firearms tragedies isn’t solely concerning restrictions, but also about improving the underlying conditions.

“We’re not one-dimensional politicians,” he emphasized. “We understand the intersectionality of the harms. It’s not just shootings. It’s economic hardship, environmental issues, neglected neighborhoods – these are the places with the highest levels of violence. We need leaders who have proximity to that reality.”

In the end, Pearson contends inaction at the national level on measures like extreme risk protection orders and waiting periods has deadly outcomes.

“Because of that inaction, people are dying,” he said. “This problem isn’t going to be solved by repeating old strategies.”