‘The Time Has Come’: Firearms-Safety Advocates Ride a ‘Seismic’ Wave into US Legislatures.

A new generation of young elected officials is gaining power across the United States by leveraging their personal experience with firearms tragedies to push for reforms they contend the public is ready for.

Their rise marks a multi-year transformation. Gun violence prevention has moved from a political taboo rarely spoken about on campaign trails to a central platform that candidates, predominantly Democrats, are now running – and winning – on.

Widespread Fatigue Drives the Change

This change is driven partly by a collective exhaustion with gun violence, including mass shootings – like recent incidents at a Rhode Island university and Bondi Beach – as well as firearms suicides and community violence, which continue to tear apart too many families and communities.

“This is a problem that has directly touched me,” said a Tennessee state representative. “There was something about a legislator and witnessing government inaction, while recalling the effects in my neighborhood, that compelled me to say this is an issue we must address urgently.”

Ironically, the day he was took office was also the deadliest shooting in Tennessee history, when six individuals were murdered at a Covenant private school.

Expulsion and a National Spotlight

Days later, he and two other fellow legislators staged a demonstration on the legislative chamber to demand stronger gun policy. The lawmakers were removed from office for their protest, an act that propelled them to national prominence. They eventually were reinstated.

Months later, his sibling was lost to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This was not his first experience with tragic death; just years before, his mentor and a former classmate were also fatally shot in Memphis.

Now, Pearson is running for a seat in the US Congress by placing gun violence at the heart of his agenda. He highlights how it affects the state’s youth, for whom firearms injuries are the leading cause of death.

From Activism to Candidacy

The emergence of candidates centering gun violence is also a result of the expanding prevention movement across the country, which has become a recruitment channel for new candidates.

• Maxwell Frost, the nation’s first Gen Z US representative, started off as a volunteer with March for Our Lives.
• Lucy McBath, a Georgia representative, and Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia governor-elect, were both volunteers with Moms Demand Action before entering politics.
• Cameron Kasky, a survivor who helped to organize national marches, has recently announced his own campaign for a House seat.

“I see myself as a piece of a larger cause. It’s the driving force I got into politics,” noted the congressman. “I was 15 when the Newtown tragedy happened and that’s what inspired me to get involved.”

A Seismic Shift in Politics

Today, challenging pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association is standard practice among Democrats. But in the recent past, many moderate Democrats held high ratings from the organization, and the subject of gun control was considered a political third rail.

“It was gradual and not linear,” explained a prominent advocate. “We saw our supporters seeking election and thought it was common sense that someone advocating for laws would want to take the next step.”

Advocates cite the 2012 mass shooting and the lack of action in Washington to pass reforms as a turning point. This led formerly gun-friendly Democrats to abandon their high ratings to call for limits on high-capacity magazines. 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 issue of gun violence has also mobilized first-time entrants to public service.

Shaundelle Brooks lost her son in a Waffle House attack in the city. Years later, another son was wounded leaving a concert. After repeated trips of advocating at the capitol with no response, she chose to become a candidate herself.

“Testifying for years and having them just ignoring me, showed me that I needed to do something greater than what I was doing,” she said.

“When people see you’re directly affected, they feel that you’re more authentic to talk about this. They know it’s not a political thing for us,” she stated.

‘It’s Our Turn’ to Lead

These personal experiences of tragedy connect individuals across the nation, 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 moment to be a part of the healing,” the representative said of his fellow advocates. “The world is full of entrenched problems. We’ve given people decades to address them. And now, with our the people behind us, it’s our turn.”

Pearson believes that addressing gun violence also requires action on bipartisan issues like veteran suicides and economic stability, which might find more traction even in conservative legislatures. This broader view shows that being focused on ending firearms tragedies isn’t just about gun laws, but also about improving the root causes.

“We’re not single-issue candidates,” he said. “We understand the connected nature of the harms. It’s not just gun violence. It’s poverty, environmental issues, deprived communities – these are the places with the highest levels of violence. We need leaders who have proximity to that reality.”

Ultimately, the candidate contends a lack of movement at the federal level on policies like extreme risk protection orders and waiting periods has deadly outcomes.

“Due to this stagnation, people are dying,” he said. “This problem isn’t going to be solved by doing what we’ve done in the past.”