U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes Joined Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Volunteers and Gun Violence Survivors for Roundtable Discussion on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and Domestic Violence

Roundtable Focused on Solutions to Curb Gun Violence and Domestic Violence and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

PHOENIX — Today, gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, alongside representatives of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, were joined by U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, and community partners for a roundtable discussion on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The discussion centered on the critical tools included in last summer’s gun safety law that help address gun violence and domestic violence in Arizona as progress towards implementation of the law continues. 

“The policies we passed and resources we secured in our Bipartisan Safer Communities law will save lives, make Arizona communities safer and healthier, and give Arizona families peace of mind,” said U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, sponsor and lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Safer Communities law. “Our law represents the kind of real solution that makes a lasting difference for the folks I’m honored to serve.” 

“Senator Sinema was on the frontlines of the fight to pass the first major federal gun safety bill in nearly 30 years, so it’s only fitting that she’s now joining forces with Arizona’s frontline gun safety advocates,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act has the potential to save countless lives in Arizona, and we applaud these leaders for working together to make good on that promise.”

“Thank you Senator Sinema for working across the aisle in order to keep our families safe from gun violence. Survivors are weary of the decades of inaction in Washington. We want to keep our children safe, so does Senator Sinema.” said Mary Reed, a volunteer with the Arizona chapter of Moms Demand Action and a Senior Survivor Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network who was shot and wounded at the Gabby Giffords’s Congress On Your Corner event at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, AZ on January 8, 2011. “Twelve years ago, I was shot three times protecting my teenage daughter. No other family should have to suffer from gun violence, so for the past 12 years I worked for common-sense gun safety laws like the one championed by Senator Sinema last summer.”

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a historic gun safety, mental health, and school safety law led by Senators Kyrsten Sinema, John Cornyn, Chris Murphy, and Thom Tillis , passed by strong bipartisan majorities in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives and was signed into law by President Biden last June – the first major federal gun safety law to pass Congress in 26 years. The law establishes an enhanced background check process for gun buyers under age 21, provides federal funding to implement state Red Flag laws, disarms domestic abusers by addressing the dating partner loophole, and funds community violence intervention programs, among other items.

After the tragic mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, Everytown supporters, alongside gun violence survivors and Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers, drove over one million calls and messages to the Senate and dropped off tens of thousands of petitions at home state offices urging bold action. Everytown also advised in the drafting of the bill.

Since its passage, Everytown has been a leader in ensuring the full implementation and strong enforcement of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This March, President Biden issued an executive order directing the Attorney General to maximize the number of background checks on gun sales by clarifying the definition of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms — a key Everytown implementation priority. Everytown continues to work with cities, states, and the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure this historic law is effectively implemented to save as many lives as possible.