The five people killed in Colorado Springs this month join 18,000 other Americans who died of gun homicides this year. Stephanie Wittels Wachs sits in for Andy to process the news with Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Shannon shares her experience hearing about the shooting as the mother of a nonbinary young adult living in Colorado, and takes stock of what her organization has accomplished since forming in the wake of Sandy Hook. Amid the heartache, this conversation is full of optimism and a sense of joy that grassroots activism is squashing the NRA’s influence and turning the tide on gun safety in America.

Keep up with Steph on Twitter @wittelstephanie.

Follow Shannon Watts on Twitter @shannonrwatts.

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Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

• Learn about Moms Demand Action: https://momsdemandaction.org/
• Learn about Demand a Seat, a program that trains volunteers and gun violence survivors to run for office and work on campaigns to elect gun sense candidates: https://www.everytown.org/demand-a-seat/
• Find vaccines, masks, testing, treatments, and other resources in your community: https://www.covid.gov/
• Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165 

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For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com/show/inthebubble.

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