We are so excited to release our second episode of our video series, Commonsense Conversations, where each week, CEO of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, Renee Hopkins is joined by our partners, legislative leaders, issue experts, and community members to talk about gun violence and the work being done to prevent it. On this week’s episode of Commonsense Conversations, Renee met with Senator Patty Kuderer and Representative Tana Senn to discuss legislation rejecting armed intimidation and limiting open carry. Both Senator Kuderer and Representative Senn are sponsoring bills, SB 5038 and HB 1283, this legislative session that, if passed, would limit the political violence and armed intimidation Washington residents have increasingly experienced.

Both Senator Kuderer and Representative Senn are leading the way in addressing the threat of weapons at public demonstrations. “You don’t need a weapon to exercise your first amendment right,” Senator Kuderer discusses. “To open carry a weapon at a protest invites violence and invites the potential to be seriously hurt or killed.” Representative Senn adds that, “Senator Kuderer and I want people to be safe and want to reduce gun violence. Violence and intimidation is not the way to make change in our state, but rather voices, words, and debate.”

We hope that Commonsense Conversations will be an engaging and informative way for our community to learn more about our work and how you can get involved. We’ll host as many as possible through Facebook Live on the Alliance for Gun Responsibility page. You can also access an audio version here if you are feeling a little video’d out. Keep an eye out for new episodes and you can see ALL of our episodes here!

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–Samantha Eden is the Legislative Organizing Fellow at the Alliance