Gun safety advocates to rally for secure storage laws, other life-saving policies in Richmond

Volunteers will gather on Friday in Richmond to meet with lawmakers to advocate for gun safety measures to be passed during the upcoming General Assembly session.

Volunteers from Virginia Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, will take part in Advocacy Day and host a rally outside the statehouse.

Virginia Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), who is also running for the Fourth District Congressional seat which will be decided in a Feb. 21 special election, will join leaders from the advocacy groups at 9 a.m.

Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts and Everytown for Gun Safety Senior Vice President of Movement Building Angela Ferrell-Zabala will be in attendance.

The rally and push for gun safety measures comes exactly one week after a six-year-old boy at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News shot his teacher using a gun legally obtained by his mother, according to published reports.

“I am so excited to highlight 10 years of our grassroots movements’ tireless work to pass life-saving gun safety laws,” said Watts. “We’ve made incredible progress right in the NRA’s backyard passing strong gun safety laws and defending against efforts to roll them back. We’re stronger than ever and fired up to continue our fight in the state house and at the ballot box to hold our lawmakers accountable to protect our communities.”

The rally will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 815 E. Grace St. in Richmond.

Since 2020, volunteers in Virginia have secured major wins for gun safety including requiring background checks on all gun sales, closing the gun show loophole, prohibiting guns at several sensitive locations like Capitol Square, state buildings and polling places, and allowing localities to prohibit guns in government buildings and at permitted events – 17 localities covering 2.8 million Virginians have since enacted such ordinances.

“Over the past 10 years, our volunteers have tirelessly fought for safer gun policies and against dangerous gun laws that threaten the safety of our communities and our families. Virginia Moms Demand Action volunteers have been on the front lines of this fight, in fact, going so far as to take that fight county by county to ensure that communities retain the right to decide what gun safety solutions work for them,” said Ferrell-Zabala. “Today, we are larger than ever before and stand ready to continue this work until every community is free from gun violence.”