Trump and Biden will face off in the first presidential debate of the season on Tuesday, September 29th. Last week, we sent a survey asking what three gun violence prevention issues you want the moderators ask about and the results are in. 

Many of you said you couldn’t decide on just three topics (we empathize), but there were three clear winners. Here are the top gun safety issues you hope to see discussed tonight:

• White vigilantism/open carry 
• School shootings
• Hate-motivated gun violence

Moderator Chris Wallace has selected six topics for tonight’s debate. One of them, “race and violence in our cities,” is sure to bring gun violence into the conversation. The phrasing of that topic—“race and violence in our cities”—has rightfully been called out for echoing Trump’s mischaracterization of this year’s historic racial justice protests and ignoring the systemic racism and police brutality that sparked the demonstrations. The other five topics are Trump and Biden’s records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, and the integrity of the election. Additionally, given recent reporting there are sure to be questions about Donald Trump’s tax returns.

We’ll be watching tonight’s debate closely to see what the candidates have to say about the gun violence epidemic. Be sure to tune in to the debate at 6pm PT/9pm ET on all major networks or online and follow along with us on Twitter at @wagunresponsib. 

 

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— Kristen Ellingboe is Communications Manager at the Alliance.