Since the United States won independence, violence and guns have been overwhelmingly prevalent in the country’s economic, political, and social arenas. This has created a culture in which politicians and everyday people become complacent to the mass shootings that are now commonplace. There have been more than 1,600 mass shootings since the Sandy Hook shooting, and yet there hasn’t been major federal gun control legislation since 1994. Instead, gun manufacturers and gun owners have gained more rights.
After the Sandy Hook shooting, families and community organizations joined forces to combat gun violence. Connecticut lawmakers made sweeping changes to the state’s gun laws. They implemented a ban on more than 150 gun models and prohibited the sale of gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. They required gun or ammunition purchasers to have a permit. They also implemented a state registry of deadly weapon offenders and a universal background check system. In 2016, Connecticut had the lowest number of gun homicides in its recorded history.
NAA advocated for these policy changes and supported local victims and survivors of gun violence. Now, NAA is working to establish comprehensive common sense gun reform across the country.
NAA was founded by Newtown residents in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012. In the aftermath of their tragedy, they organized community gatherings where people wrote letters and called representatives to demand change. On the nine-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, they traveled to Washington, D.C., alongside victims and survivors of gun violence from Chicago, Aurora, Oak Creek, and Hartford to urge lawmakers to implement comprehensive, common sense gun law reform. In December 2014, they partnered with faith groups and gun violence prevention organizations to hold a nationwide vigil to remember all victims of gun violence. Since then, NAA has grown to more than 200 members. NAA continues to collaborate with intersectional activists and gun violence prevention organizations to organize actions to empower victims and survivors of gun violence while changing local, state, and federal legislation. On December 6, 2017, before the fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, NAA delivered a letter with "23 federal measures that will end all forms of gun violence in America" to every member of Congress. There has not been any federal gun law reform since the Sandy Hook shooting, though some states have elected pro-gun control representatives and severl communities have enacted gun control legislation.
NAA advocates for common sense gun laws (listed below). NAA does not align with any political party. Rather, its members believe that gun control should be at the forefront of politicians' and voters' minds in their everyday lives and especially at the polls. Some NAA leaders self-identify as single-issue voters, with a candidate's stance on gun control being the determinant of their support.
Federal Gun Laws to Make America Truly Safe:
1. Background checks on sale of all guns
2. Close the Charleston loophole or “delayed denial” where federally licensed dealers can sell guns if three business days pass without a verdict from the FBI
3. Restrict and penalize firearm possession by or transfer to a person subject to a domestic violence protection order or a person (including dating partners) convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor
4. Prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence
5. Fix the National Instant Criminal Background Check system (NICS)
6. Mandatory waiting period for gun purchases
7. Gun violence restraining order/extreme risk protection order to temporarily prohibit an individual deemed by a judge to pose a danger to self or others, from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition and allow law enforcement to remove any firearms or ammunition already in the individual’s possession
8. Handgun permitting, licensing, training, and registration
9. Ban bump-fire stocks and other dangerous accessories
10. Ban future manufacture and sale of assault weapons, regulate existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and initiate a federal gun buyback program
11. Limits on high capacity magazines
12. Prohibit open carry
13. Make gun trafficking a federal crime
14. Repeal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to eliminate the corporate gun industry special protection from civil justice law that no other industry enjoys
15. Repeal Dickey Amendment to adequately fund government research on gun violence
16. Child access prevention/safe storage requirement
17. Provide resources for people with mental illness
18. Microstamped code on each bullet that links it to a specific gun
19. “Smart guns” with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or biometric recognition (fingerprint) capability
20. Limit gun purchases to one gun per month to reduce trafficking and straw purchases
21. Require licensing for ammunition dealers
22. Enhance accountability of federally licensed firearms dealers
23. Digitize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) gun records
NAA is entirely volunteer-run. It is comprised of eight directors and more than 200 members across the country. Its board of directors oversees decision-making, but relies on community input. The current chair, Po Murray, lives in Newtown, Connecticut, and co-founded NAA.