Guns Down America was formed in 2016 to bring to light the ways the gun industry pushes its product through the gun lobby, politicians, and corporate America.

One of our first marquee wins was ending FedEx's relationship with the NRA with a consumer pressure campaign. Not only did this undermine support for the NRA and reduce the value of the organization's membership program, it also proved that consumers want to see corporations be engaged with gun violence prevention.

Building on our FedEx win, we honed in on research that showed how corporate America could use their influence to advance solutions to gun violence. The resulting campaigns (Is Your Bank Loaded?, Deadliest Places to Grocery Shop, and Business Must Act) graded organizations on their policies to help consumers see the ties and demand action on gun violence from their favorite brands.

Two key victories came from this effort: Walmart and Subway banned carry in their stories, and Walmart additionally ended the sale of handguns and handgun ammo in U.S. stores.

In an effort to continue to innovate new solutions to the increasingly complex issue of gun violence, Guns Down America discovered that the gun industry was exempt from a standard banking protocol that could help prevent gun crimes.

Our research and campaigning led the International Standards Organization, which sets payment standards, to create the code — a crucial step to keep Americans safe from gun violence.

We pursued other unique strategies, including a Colorado state excise tax on gun manufacturers to help fill a critical funding gap for victim services organizations. This initiative was supported by the majority of Colorado voters during the 2024 election cycle. It is expected to generate over $30 million annually to support domestic violence survivors, veterans, and mental health services, putting the burden for violent crimes often perpetrated with a firearm back on the industry that profits from them.

Gun violence can't happen where there aren't guns, and guns are not inevitable.

We're creating a politics of rejection through targeted counter- and de-marketing campaigns, and we’re continuing our history of developing unique, innovative, and effective solutions to gun violence prevention.