Following the historic passage of high-capacity magazine restrictions in the state legislature and as gun violence rises, the Alliance celebrated its progress and highlighted the urgent need for continued action

SEATTLE, WA – Hundreds of Washingtonians gathered at the Westin Seattle and virtually today for the Alliance for Gun Responsibility’s 10th annual luncheon, Building a Safer Future. The event comes on the heels of a successful legislative session, including the historic passage of high-capacity magazine restrictions, and highlighted the remarkable progress the Alliance has made since its founding in 2013. The event also comes as Seattle, Washington, and the rest of the country contend with increasingly high rates of gun violence. 

The full event can be viewed here. 

The program explored the continued impact of the pandemic on the gun violence epidemic and emphasized the urgent need for additional action to address it. It was hosted by Grammy-nominated Recording Artist and Community Advocate Hollis Wong-Wear and featured remarks from Alliance CEO Renée Hopkins, Alliance Founder Nick Hanauer, and gun safety advocate Jay Ward. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell gave the keynote address.  

“Today we celebrate the tremendous progress we’ve made in the fight against gun violence since the Alliance was founded in 2013,” said Renée Hopkins, Alliance for Gun Responsibility CEO. “Together, we have passed three ballot measures and more than 30 community safety bills through Olympia, elected a true gun responsibility majority to the legislature, removed hundreds of guns from dangerous situations, and saved countless lives. We have continued to lead the nation in proving that gun violence is preventable. That message and this work are more important than ever as our communities continue to experience record-levels of gun violence. We are committed to fighting to build the safer, more just future our communities deserve.”

“As our administration takes on the rising rates of gun violence, ending this epidemic requires strong and effective partners like the Alliance for Gun Responsibility to advance bold policy and set aspirational — and achievable — goals,” said Mayor Harrell. “When we set a goal to prevent gun violence, we know that means saving lives. Working together, we will continue to advance new solutions and community-based efforts to address this crisis and make progress.”

Seattle and King County have seen record levels of gun violence since the start of the pandemic. According to the 2021 Shots Fired report from the King County Prosecutor’s Office: 

• Seattle saw more gun violence in 2021 than any year in at least a decade — more people killed by guns, more people hurt by guns, more shots fired.
• Every single precinct saw more shots fired than in 2020.
• 79% of homicides in the city this year were committed with firearms.
• The shootings disproportionately impact people of color and particularly young Black men: More than 81% of shooting victims in King County were people of color. 

See a fact sheet on gun violence in Washington here and recap of the Alliance’s 2022 legislative victories here.

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