The Idaho chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement after the Idaho legislature ended the legislative session without passing a dangerous gun lobby priority. The bills that were moving through the legislative session included HB 475, legislation which would encourage armed intimidation and the open carrying of firearms in Idaho by allowing individuals to form a militia and openly parade in public with a firearm; HB 674, legislation to expand the state’s dangerous Shoot First legislation; and HB 490, legislation to create a criminal penalty for local officials who enforce gun safety laws. All of these bills would have further weakened gun laws in the state – which ranks 49th in gun law strength in the country.
“This session is a big success in the fight to end gun violence,” said Jacqui Hamilton, a volunteer with the Idaho chapter of Moms Demand Action. “While these wins are important, there is clearly more to do in our state. We will continue to push lawmakers to spend less time on dangerous bills that waste time and resources each session and instead prioritize proactive measures that can help prevent the rising gun violence in our state such as secure storage legislation.”
Days before the session ended, lawmakers attempted to advance dangerous gun bills – but thankfully those efforts failed. During the session, Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action volunteers and supporters have sent over 2,072 emails to legislators this session in opposition to dangerous measures this session. Volunteers testified and advocated in hearings in support of these bills and hosted an advocacy day at the statehouse in February where they held meetings with a dozen lawmakers on their priorities and the importance of gun safety.
Next session, lawmakers should build on this success and push proactive bills to address the gun violence epidemic in the state with measures such as extreme risk and secure storage laws and allocating more funding for community violence intervention programs that will address the rising numbers of gun violence – particularly gun suicide – in the state.
Statistics about gun violence in Idaho are available here. Everytown’s interactive gun law platform — which shows the direct correlation between the strength of a state’s gun laws and its rate of gun deaths — is available here. To ask questions or request an interview with a volunteer from Idaho Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
