Gun violence remains a big problem despite flurry of election topics, advocates say

From the June 28 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to the October 1 vice presidential debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, at least 134 people have been killed in 148 mass shootings across the United States. according to Gun Violence Archive.

But during those roughly three months and since then, the issue of preventing gun violence has been, according to some advocates, overshadowed by a barrage of hot-button issues. campaign Topics: the state of the economy, abortion rights, the wars raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, two assassination attempts on Trump and the changing political landscape in which Vice President Kamala Harris has replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee.

“Gun violence continues to be one of the most important issues facing our country. We still have an epidemic,” said Nicole Hockley, CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, a gun violence prevention group she co-founded after the 2012 mass shooting. At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 20 children, including her son, and six adult staff members died.

In an interview this week with ABC News, Hockley was quoted as saying Johns Hopkins Center Report on Addressing Gun Violence And for three years in a row, gun violence has been the leading cause of death in the United States for teenagers under 19 years of age.

IN ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll A report released in August on gun violence ranked as the eighth most important issue among voters, behind the economy, inflation, health care, protecting democracy, crime and safety, immigration and the Supreme Court.

Based on 2023 data. Pew Research Center Poll61% of Americans say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in this country, and 58% think U.S. gun control laws should be stricter.

“I appreciate that there are many other big issues and hot topics, such as the economy, abortion and foreign wars, that are also of interest to voters,” said Hockley, whose nonpartisan group does not endorse candidates or donate to campaigns.

She added: “There may be an assumption, right or wrong, that everyone already knows what each candidate’s views are and what they are likely to do in terms of preventing gun violence, whereas they may not be as clear about such things.” , like politics around the economy.”

Debate over gun violence

During the three national debates during the presidential campaign, gun violence prevention appeared to be discussed less than other controversial topics, some advocates said.

During the Sept. 10 Harris-Trump debate hosted by ABC News, gun violence surfaced when Trump, who was shot in the ear during a July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that killed one campaign rallygoer and two others . injured – it is stated: “She wants to confiscate your weapons.”

The accusation prompted Harris, who oversees the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, to respond: “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We don’t take away anyone’s weapons. So stop lying about it all the time.” “

Harris, the former California attorney general, also said, “I am the only person on this stage who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations for trafficking weapons, drugs and people.”

Ten days after her debate with Trump, Harris reiterated that she is a gun owner during a television interview with Oprah Winfrey, adding: “If someone breaks into my house, they will be shot.”

The most extensive gun talk during the debate occurred during the vice presidential debate, when Walz touted his accomplishments in Minnesota in combating gun violence, saying his administration had passed an assault weapons ban and strengthened gun laws that prohibited gun violence. weapons in hand. people willing to harm themselves or others.

“These are common sense things we can do to make a difference,” Walz said during a debate on gun violence prevention.

Vance and Trump oppose most gun control laws, including the assault weapons ban and national red flag laws proposed by Harris. The National Rifle Association endorsed the Trump-Vance proposal.

“Now more than ever, freedom and liberty need brave and virtuous champions,” Doug Hamlin, executive vice president and CEO of the NRA, said in a July statement. “President Trump and Senator Vance have the courage and fortitude to stand firm for the Second Amendment.”

During the debate, Vance said of gun violence prevention measures: “Governor Walz and I probably agree that we need to do more on this issue.”

Speaking about school shootings, Vance said at the debate: “I unfortunately think we need to improve safety in our schools. We need to improve door locking. We must make the doors stronger. windows are stronger. And, of course, we need to increase the number of school resource officers, because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of the bad guys is simply not consistent with recent experience.”

“Generation of self-isolation”

Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures, said that despite the many challenges this election cycle, gun violence prevention continues to resonate with voters across the country. .

“First of all, I get to travel all over the country and meet with our volunteers, partners and candidates on the ballot, and there are so many people who are not running away from this issue, but running through it and actually winning. ” Ferrell-Zabala told ABC News. “That’s a priority for a lot of people.”

She said that in her experience, young people who grew up in an era of school restrictions and active shooter drills are especially excited about gun violence prevention and plan to vote their conscience.

“This is a big problem. This is the top three for all voters and for young people it particularly affects them because they are the lockdown generation. Many of them are survivors of gun violence themselves,” said Ferrell-Zabala, whose group endorsed the Harris-Waltz ticket.

Based on 2023 data. Pew Research Center Poll88% of respondents also wanted mentally ill people not to buy guns, and 79% wanted the minimum age to buy guns raised to 21.

Ferrell-Zabala said most aspects of gun violence prevention should not be considered political, including requiring gun owners to secure their guns so they don’t fall into the hands of children or people intending to harm others or themselves.

“They are used as political issues, but they are not. Most people, as polls have shown time and again, support common sense gun laws because they know they will save lives in this country,” Ferrell-Zabala said. . “And what you see is a product of the gun industry and extremist politicians who are trying to maintain this culture where guns are everywhere, where guns are everywhere and for everyone at all times. Frankly, this is unacceptable.”

Hockley said many of children who survived the Sandy Hook massacre that claimed the life of her 6-year-old son, Dylan, is now 18 and will vote in her first presidential election.

“I believe they will actively vote to stop this epidemic,” Hockley told ABC News. “I’m sure they will have other issues: women’s rights, human rights. Preventing gun violence is also a human right, a right to live life to the fullest. These students have seen the worst of what our country has to offer. regarding school violence, and I really believe and hope that they will vote for that as one of their top issues.”