What’s Next for the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention?

September 20, 2024

Ahead of the one year anniversary of the office’s creation, Guns Down America highlights where we go from here, regardless of who wins in November

WASHINGTON — Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Executive Director Hudson Munoz of Guns Down America, a founding member of the Time is Now coalition calling for the office’s creation, released the following statement:

"The creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was a hard-won victory, and Guns Down America is proud to have been part of the driving force behind it. But make no mistake, this first year is just the start. We hope that this office is a permanent fixture, regardless of the next administration, or the one to follow. It must continue to be a center of community, connection, and storytelling to challenge the notion that guns are a requisite in a civil society. Americans deserve a permanent force within the executive office that represents promoting peace, protecting democracy, and dismantling the idea that guns are essential to American life. Our message is clear: This office must continue—no matter who sits in the White House. The stakes are too high to turn back now."

Background: Guns Down America was a leading member of the Time is Now coalition, a group of organizations including Newtown Action Alliance, March For Our Lives, and Community Justice Action Fund, who pushed for President Biden to take executive action to address gun violence and open the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The coalition wrote numerous letters to the administration, organized emails from individual voters, and coordinated public pressure from gun violence survivors and lawmakers to push the White House at any available inflection point. On the Parkland anniversary in 2022, Guns Down America launched the Shock Market campaign with March For Our Lives and Change the Ref, which highlighted in real-time the number of gun deaths that had occurred under the Biden administration and gave people tools to demand action. This campaign kicked off with a rally outside the White House and generated significant press coverage and public pressure for the idea of a White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.