Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund to Spend $650,000 to Take Back Colorado State Senate With a Gun Sense Majority, Make Gains in the State House

Country’s Largest Gun Violence Prevention Group Also Endorsing Rep. Jared Polis for Governor, Veteran Jason Crow for Congress in CO-6

Everytown Previously Announced a $5-Million Ad Campaign Called “Not One More” to Get out the Vote for Gun Safety in 15 Red-to-Blue Congressional Districts, Including CO-6

DENVER – Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund today announced it will spend $650,000 to help take back the Colorado Senate with a gun sense majority, make gains in the Colorado House, and support gun sense candidates up and down the ballot. Everytown’s electoral activities in Colorado will include contributions to political committees to support voter contact and mobilization activities. Everytown is also announcing endorsements of Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) for governor and veteran Jason Crow for Congress in Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District.

“The politics on this issue have shifted dramatically in favor of gun safety — and nowhere is that more true than in Colorado,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We are proud to support candidates up and down the ballot who will put public safety ahead of gun lobby priorities.”

Everytown has previously endorsed Tom Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was shot and killed during the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, for state representative in State House District 37; Brenda House, a Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteer who is running for state representative in State House District 15; and Jennifer Hope, a Moms Demand Action volunteer who is running for the Regional Transportation Board District N.

Everytown previously announced a $5-million advertising campaign called “Not One More” to get out the vote for gun safety in 15 critical red-to-blue House congressional districts, including Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District where Crow is challenging Republican Congressman Mike Coffman.

Rep. Coffman has taken more NRA PAC money than anyone in Colorado’s congressional delegation, while Jason Crow has made gun safety a central issue in his campaign. Crow hasn’t shied away from talking about gun safety and taking on the NRA, and even launched an ad calling out Coffman for taking more NRA money than any other congressperson in Colorado.

In the Governor’s race, Polis is running on a platform that includes common-sense gun safety laws and has promised to take on the NRA, while his opponent, Republican Treasurer Walker Stapleton, says he would repeal many of Colorado’s gun safety laws.

Everytown’s electoral spending follows a year in which it was clear that the politics of gun safety have shifted in the Rocky Mountain State. During the 2018 legislative session, the Colorado House passed bipartisan Red Flag legislation to create a way for family members and law enforcement to act before warning signs escalate into deadly tragedies with firearms. Although a Senate committee blocked this bill before it could receive a vote on the Colorado Senate floor, its passage through the House reflected the continued growth of the state’s gun violence prevention movement. Meanwhile, NRA-backed bills to force K-12 schools to allow civilians to carry loaded handguns either openly or concealed, and to remove Colorado’s requirement of a permit in order to carry a concealed handgun in public, both failed.

Since 2014, Everytown for Gun Safety has taken the fight for common-sense gun legislation state-by-state, in partnership with its grassroots arm Moms Demand Action. There has been significant progress in the states, defeating dangerous gun lobby legislation and passing common-sense gun laws that will help save lives. Since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, 18 states ― red, blue and purple ― have passed meaningful gun safety legislation. The selection of these candidates for endorsement emphasizes Everytown’s ongoing commitment to gun safety in states across the country.