You Asked, He Answered: Everytown’s President John Feinblatt Answers Your Top Questions

Every month, Everytown sends out a survey to a core group of our volunteers and supporters to hear directly from members of our grassroots movement. We ask them what they know about our work, how they feel about current political moments, and how we can meet them where they are.

A few months ago, we asked this select group—our Donor Insight Panel—to turn the questions back on us. They asked us questions we know are on many people’s minds, such as:

• “What can we do to protect gun laws when Trump is doing what he’s doing?” 
• “How do Moms Demand Action volunteers stay motivated to work for change while juggling so many other things in their lives?”
• “What is the best way to make meaningful change?”

We asked experts from teams across Everytown, including Everytown Law, Everytown Research, the Everytown Survivor Network, Everytown Policy and Advocacy, and the Everytown Community Safety Fund, to answer what our audience most wanted to know. And now, John Feinblatt—president of Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund—is bringing those answers to you.

How can we stop Trump’s agenda and continue to make progress during his second administration?

John Feinblatt: No question about it: The election of Donald Trump and a Republican Congress makes for a bumpier political landscape. But we remain bullish on the future of the gun safety movement for three key reasons:

1. We know how to counter Trump. During Trump’s first term, Everytown helped thwart the NRA’s top federal priority, Concealed Carry Reciprocity—and that was when the gun lobby was at the height of its power, and basking in its status as one of Trump’s largest outside donors. We’re already using that playbook to push back on Trump’s second-term agenda.
2. States remain fertile ground for gun safety. In the 2024 election, less than 1 percent of state legislative seats went from blue to red. That puts us in a strong position to continue passing gun safety laws at the state level, which is the foundation of Everytown’s political strength. And we’re already making progress. In 2025, we’ve already helped pass:
   • An innovative law requiring a permit to buy assault weapons in Colorado; 
   • A ban on devices that turn Glock handguns into machine guns in Alabama, Tennessee, and New Mexico; and 
   • Laws requiring secure gun storage in Hawai‘i, Michigan, and Utah.
3. Courts are acting independently. Back in March, the Supreme Court upheld a 2022 ATF rule that classified ghost guns—which are untraceable, build-it-yourself guns—as firearms, allowing federal authorities to continue cracking down on these dangerous weapons.

What can we do to change the deep-rooted culture around guns in America?

John Feinblatt: This is a question we think about a lot here at Everytown. Four in 10 Americans live in a household with a gun, so if we’re serious about reducing gun violence, then we need to be serious about reaching gun owners with messages—and messengers—that resonate with them. Here are two new programs we’re rolling out with gun owners in mind:

1. Medical School Training Program: Doctors have a critical role to play when it comes to educating their patients about the health risks of unsecured firearms—but most of them receive little to no training on how to talk about the issue. With that in mind, we’re collaborating with the New England Journal of Medicine to fund a two-year virtual reality program to train future physicians at ten top medical schools on how to talk to their patients about gun safety, similar to how they talk about seat belts, bike helmets, and smoking. The pilot program launched in early 2025, and we’ve already begun training 1,000 students at medical schools like Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago, historically Black medical institutions like Howard University College of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine, and more—and we already have a waiting list of other interested schools. 
2. Engaging Social Media Influencers Around Secure Storage: A decade ago, we launched Be SMART, our 50-state secure storage education program. Be SMART enlists Moms Demand Action volunteers to spread the word about the importance of securely storing firearms, through both one-on-one conversations and partnerships with stakeholders in law enforcement, education, healthcare, public health, and more.

Thanks to the hard work of Be SMART volunteers, more than 11 million students live in districts that require schools to educate parents on secure storage. We’re always looking for new ways to reach gun owners, which recently led us to engage social media influencers, including gun owners, to talk to their audiences about the importance of secure storage. An example:

What is Everytown doing to hold bad actor gun dealers and gun manufacturers accountable for their role in the gun violence crisis?

John Feinblatt: This year marks two decades since Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which granted the gun industry broad legal immunity. As the industry hoped, this had a chilling effect on lawsuits against rogue gun makers and sellers. But we identified cracks in the industry’s immunity that we could pry open—so in 2019, we launched Everytown Law. 

With 26 lawyers, Everytown Law is now the nation’s largest gun safety litigation team, and we’ve had great success chipping away at the industry’s perceived invincibility. We’ve forced gun companies to hand over millions to plaintiffs, change the way they do business, or close up shop entirely. Everytown Law is currently litigating 13 cases against gun industry companies like Glock and Smith & Wesson, and in many instances, our clients are families that were torn apart by mass shootings in Highland Park, Buffalo, Uvalde, and others. We’re also holding social media companies like YouTube and Reddit accountable for making America’s gun violence crisis even worse by addicting potential mass shooters to dangerous gun content.

How can someone get involved to help Everytown accomplish this work, and more, in 2025? What can I personally do to support?

John Feinblatt: Our grassroots network of 11 million supporters is fighting for our country’s safety and stability, and we’re stronger because of people like you who are helping us win this fight.

If you’re ready to prove that pioneering progress is still possible, regardless of who controls the White House, there are two things you can do today to take action:

1. Be part of our grassroots army that is mobilizing in every state and Washington, D.C., by joining Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action.
2. Give today: We are powered by grassroots donations from everyday Americans across the country—and we mean it when we say that every dollar counts in equipping us to work toward a future free from gun violence. Committing to a monthly donation is one of the best ways you can support our work. A monthly gift fuels quick action against the gun lobby and lasting progress for safer communities.