John—

In recent years, political violence in the United States has become more frequent and more brazen. The presence of guns makes it even more dangerous.

Recent data suggests that Americans are increasingly willing to tolerate or justify using violence against elected officials—which, when coupled with increased firearm access, could spell disaster.

To understand how guns are being used in threats against government officials, we examined the role of guns in rising political violence in a new report, reviewing more than 150 federal indictments for individuals charged with threatening elected officials.

We found that, more often than not, guns are invoked or used in the most serious threats toward elected officials—and, alarmingly, female lawmakers and lawmakers of color are disproportionately threatened.

At Giffords Law Center, we’re all too familiar with the cost of political violence. Gabby and 18 others were shot during a constituent event 12 years ago. Violence against elected officials has only escalated since then, and woefully little has been done to address the threat of guns to our democracy.

We cannot curb extremism—and protect our democracy—without strengthening gun laws. And that’s what we’re fighting to do every day. Read more about what states and the federal government can do to curb political violence.

All my best,
Kelly

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Kelly Drane
Research Director
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence