Everytown Awards 50+ “Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate” Distinctions to New York Candidates

Over 50 Candidates for Mayor, City Council, County Legislator, County Executive, and District Attorney Receive Distinction Ahead of June 22 Primary

Leading Candidates In NYC Mayoral Contest All Running as Gun Sense Candidates 

NEW YORK – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the first round of over 50 candidates in New York selected for the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction program. The candidates are running in the June 22 primary for municipal and other down-ballot offices. Voters are able to view a list of candidates by visiting GunSenseVoter.org.

“New York is proof that elections matter, because New York voters have consistently elected gun sense champions who followed through on their campaign promises and passed life-saving measures to regulate ghost guns, hold the gun industry accountable, and temporarily disarm people who pose a threat to themselves or others,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “These candidates know that gun violence prevention is a winning issue in New York, and that Moms Demand Action volunteers will go all out to elect gun sense champions up and down the ballot.”

“As we award these Gun Sense Candidate distinctions, we’re letting candidates know that if you have our backs, we’ll have yours,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “Over the last few years we’ve helped elect gun sense super-majorities in New York and have seen groundbreaking successes on gun safety as a result. Moms Demand Action volunteers look forward to building on this work by continuing to elect Gun Sense Candidates up and down the ballot.”

Several candidates running to be Mayor of New York City applied for and received the distinction, including Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Maya Wiley, and Andrew Yang. Over 50 candidates in down-ballot races in New York have sought and received the distinction so far, demonstrating their commitment to run on their gun violence prevention credentials. These candidates represent the depth and breadth of the gun violence prevention movement:

• This round of the distinction was focused on the down-ballot races taking place this year in New York, including municipal contests, county offices, and law enforcement offices. 
• Over 70% of the first round of Gun Sense Candidates are women;
• Voters are able to view the complete list of gun sense candidates by visiting GunSenseVoter.org

The Gun Sense Candidate distinction is a signal to Everytown and Moms Demand Action’s nearly six million supporters, volunteers, and voters across the country that a candidate stands up for gun violence prevention. The Gun Sense Candidate distinction is not an endorsement from Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, or its volunteer networks Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. Receiving the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction is a prerequisite for being considered for endorsement.

The Gun Sense Candidate Distinction program began in 2018, when the program recognized over 3,000 candidates running for office. In 2020, the program again recognized more than 3,000 candidates, including candidates in 49 states and Washington DC and for offices from President to State Legislature. Of the gun sense candidates who ran during the general election, nearly 60% won their races—resulting in a federal gun sense trifecta between the White House, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate.

More on gun violence in New York:

• In New York State each year, on average, 829 people die by guns, and 2,607 people are shot and wounded.  
• Black people in New York State are 15 times more likely to die by gun homicide than white people. 
• Gun violence costs New York State $5.9 billion each year, of which $321 million is paid by taxpayers. 

Additional statistics about gun violence in New York are available here.