‘The Time Has Come’: Firearms-Safety Activists Surf a ‘Tectonic’ Surge into US Statehouses.

A fresh wave of young political leaders is ascending to office across the United States by channeling their personal experience with gun violence to advocate for policy changes they contend the public is ready for.

Their rise marks a nearly decade-long transformation. Firearms safety has moved from a third-rail issue seldom discussed on campaign trails to a core issue that politicians, mostly Democrats, are now running – and winning – on.

A Collective Exhaustion Fuels the Shift

This change is driven partly by a collective exhaustion with gun violence, encompassing large-scale attacks – like tragedies at a Rhode Island university and a Sydney beach – as well as firearms suicides and community violence, which continue to tear apart too many families and communities.

“This is a problem that has directly touched me,” said a Tennessee state representative. “Serving as a state representative and witnessing a lack of action, while remembering the effects in my neighborhood, that compelled me to say this is an issue we must address urgently.”

The day he was sworn in coincided with the most lethal attack in the state’s history, when three children and three adults were murdered at a Covenant private school.

From Protest to Prominence

Shortly after, he and several state Democrats staged a demonstration on the legislative chamber to demand stronger gun policy. Pearson and his colleague were expelled for their protest, an act that catapulted them to widespread recognition. They eventually reclaimed their seats.

Subsequently, Pearson’s brother died of a firearm suicide. This was not his first encounter with tragic death; previously, his guide and a former classmate were also fatally shot in his hometown.

Now, Pearson is running for a seat in the US Congress by placing firearms safety at the heart of his agenda. He highlights how it affects the state’s youth, for whom firearms injuries are the leading cause of death.

From Activism to Candidacy

The rise of candidates centering this issue is also a result of the expanding prevention movement across the nation, which has evolved into a pipeline for new candidates.

• Maxwell Frost, the nation’s first Generation Z US representative, began as a activist with a student-led gun-safety group.
• Lucy McBath, a Congresswoman, and Abigail Spanberger, a soon-to-be governor, were both involved with Moms Demand Action before running for office.
• Cameron Kasky, a Parkland survivor who helped to organize student protests, has declared his own run for a House seat.

“I see myself as a piece of a larger cause. It’s the reason I got into politics,” said Frost. “I was 15 when the Newtown tragedy happened and that’s what inspired me to get involved.”

A Seismic Shift in Politics

Nowadays, challenging pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association is standard practice among Democrats. But in the recent past, many centrist politicians held high ratings from the organization, and the topic of regulating guns was considered a political third rail.

“It was gradual and full of ups and downs,” said a prominent advocate. “We saw our volunteers seeking election and thought it was logical that someone shaping legislation would want to take the next step.”

Many point to the 2012 mass shooting and the subsequent failure in Congress to pass reforms as a turning point. This led formerly gun-friendly Democrats to risk their favorable scores to support limits on high-capacity magazines. Now, receiving a poor grade from the group is a point of pride.

“After Parkland, no Democratic members of Congress had an A rating and were proud about it. That’s a dramatic change,” the advocate added. “It dispelled a lot of misperceptions and anxieties about being gun safety-forward.”

From Grieving Parent to Candidate

The issue of gun violence has also mobilized newcomers to public service.

A Tennessee mother lost her son in a 2018 mass shooting in the city. Tragically, another son was wounded leaving a music venue. After repeated trips of advocating at the statehouse with no response, she chose to become a candidate herself.

“Coming up here for seven years and having them just dismiss me, showed me that I needed to do something greater than what I was doing,” Brooks said.

“Knowing you’re personally impacted, they feel that you’re more credible to talk about this. They know it’s not a political thing for us,” she added.

‘It’s Our Turn’ to Lead

These shared stories of tragedy unite individuals across the country, forming what victims and survivors describe as a “club no one wants to join.”

“We don’t have a formal network, but we all feel compelled in this time to be a part of the solution,” Pearson said of his colleagues. “The world is full of entrenched problems. We’ve given people decades to address them. And now, with our constituents’ support, the moment is ours.”

Pearson argues that addressing gun violence also requires action on bipartisan issues like veteran suicides and economic stability, which might find more traction even in Republican-led legislatures. This broader view shows that being committed to ending gun violence isn’t just about restrictions, but also about improving the underlying conditions.

“We’re not single-issue candidates,” he said. “We understand the intersectionality of the problems. It’s not just shootings. It’s economic hardship, environmental issues, neglected neighborhoods – these are the places with the most severe rates of violence. We need leaders who have experienced that reality.”

Ultimately, the candidate contends inaction at the federal level on policies like red flag laws and waiting periods has deadly outcomes.

“Because of that inaction, people are dying,” he said. “This problem won’t be fixed by repeating old strategies.”