Moms Demand Action pushes forward

Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States, according to the CDC. This is a sobering statistic, and it is getting people’s attention. Groups are organizing around the cause, and many are advocating for change in laws at both a state and national level. One group working tirelessly to get common-sense gun laws passed is Moms Demand Action.

“[We are] a grassroots organization, and our mission is to end gun violence in the United States,” says Christina VanEyl, the Grand Rapids group lead for Moms Demand Action. “We are about 10 million strong nation-wide right now. Our numbers always increase whenever there is a school shooting, but the truth is, the everyday toll of gun violence is also a problem we are working on.

“Gun suicide rates are very high, unintentional shootings by children who get a hold of a gun that they shouldn’t have are incredibly high in our population,” she says. “The goal of Moms Demand Action is to put an end to gun violence.” 

The group is non-partisan, though political in the sense that they do advocate and work with lawmakers and gun-sense candidates. Though Moms is in the title, the group is open to mothers and others.

“Anyone who is passionate about these issues is welcome in our meetings,” says VanEyl.

The group was founded in 2013 soon after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.

People go into grassroots volunteering for many reasons. For VanEyl, she really began following gun violence after the Columbine school shooting, back in 1999.

“I was working for a magazine back then and was able to go to Littleton after the shootings and was able to interview some of the parents and some of the students that had been in the building during the time of the tragedy there, and so that tipped me to following it,” she says. “It was pretty emotional to meet with those people and to hear their experiences, and so that is how I became involved with the whole anti-gun violence movement.”

Michigan is currently ranked 24^th in the U.S. in terms of the strength of gun laws, but tides are changing. 

“We have a gun sense trifecta right now in Michigan, which is great, especially those who have been working on this for years and years. We have had bills in committee that couldn’t get out of committee because there was nobody there to push them or to vote in favor of them. The Michigan House and Senate recently adopted safe storage laws and universal background checks,” says VanEyl.

“The other [bill] that is pending right now is Extreme Risk Protection Orders, ERPO, or ‘red flag laws,’ which would allow for the removal of guns from the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others,” she says. “The Senate has voted on that, but the House has not.”  

One of the biggest events of the year for Moms Demand Action is Advocacy Day, which takes place in Lansing at the State Capitol on April 13. 

“All of the Moms Demand Action participants can come to the Capitol and meet with their representatives and talk to them about the importance of gun sense legislation,” VanEyl explains. “Generally, it is a specific kind of an ask, and in other years it’s been fruitless, but we have every reason to believe that this year it will be a different experience. We are advocating for victims of gun violence and for safe gun laws.” 

This is the first year Advocacy Day will be fully in person since COVID, and more than 500 people have signed up to attend the event. 

Grassroots volunteering of any kind takes a lot of energy, and for those advocating for common-sense gun laws, it can be particularly exhausting. VanEyl admits that sometimes her motivation comes from an intensely emotional place — “Sometimes it’s just anger, to use that as a force for good rather than just sitting back and being frustrated. If you can channel that and put it into something productive, that keeps me going.”

VanEyl urges anyone and everyone to get involved. “Come join us. There is room for you, we have gun owners who are part of our movement and we appreciate them. Because your average responsible gun owner wants to see laws in place that promote responsible gun ownership. So, regardless of where you are on the spectrum, if you’re fed up, if you feel like we can do better, if you see a way forward, come join us. There is power and comfort in our numbers, and we can do this, but it is gonna take all of us.”