In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012, a group of concerned citizens, philanthropists, and faith leaders came together in Seattle to demand action on gun violence. They knew that voters were fed up with the NRA’s stranglehold on politicians and that in the absence of federal action, state-based progress was their best chance to combat the epidemic.

To fund their vision for commonsense policies to prevent gun violence in Washington they held a luncheon to raise money to support the work ahead.

Fast forward nine years and many of those same activists gathered again in Seattle to celebrate all that the Alliance has accomplished since that day. We’ve passed three ballot initiatives, upwards of 30 gun responsibility laws in the legislature, elected hundreds of gun responsibility champions, and made great strides in research, implementation and community engagement.

After two years of virtual luncheons due to the pandemic, the Alliance team was thrilled to be back in-person with our community! Our speaker lineup included:

The speakers recognized the incredible success we’ve achieved since our founding, including our most recent legislative win: restricting high-capacity magazines. High-capacity magazines are the weapons of choice for mass shooters. After six years of advocacy, legislators in Olympia finally passed a law to ban the sale of these deadly accessories.

Two inspiring videos complemented the remarks. The first was an Alliance for Gun Responsibility retrospective and the second featured the amazing work our partner organizations like Community Passageways and RISE do. Take a look!

Of course, the program was not entirely celebratory. Attendees knew all too well how much work there is still left to do. A recent report by Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions paints a disturbing portrait of gun violence in America. In 2020, there were 45,222 gun deaths, the highest number of gun-related deaths ever recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plus, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that could change the legal landscape of gun violence prevention work forever, and our hard-fought progress could be unraveled if the midterm elections go wrong.

We’re so grateful our supporters recognize what’s at stake and that they generously donate to fund our lifesaving work. If you would like to make a gift in honor or our luncheon you can do so here. And you can watch the full 90-minute program here.

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–Maureen McGregor is the Communications and Fundraising Director at the Alliance.