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Everytown Launches $1.4 Million in Digital Ads and Direct Mail to Flip Pennsylvania Legislature to a Gun Sense Majority

September 21, 2020

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Spending Roughly $700,000 on Digital Ads and $700,000 on Direct Mail Primarily Targeting Republicans in the Pennsylvania Legislature for Their Inaction in the Face of the Gun Violence Crisis

Polling Shows Voters in Pennsylvania Support Stronger Gun Laws by a 9:1 Margin

HARRISBURG, Penn. – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund (“Everytown”) launched $1.4 Million in digital ads and direct mail in order to elect a gun sense majority in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate. As part of the effort, Everytown will spend roughly $700,000 to run digital video, radio and static ads, and roughly $700,000 to send candidate-specific direct mailers to voters in more than a dozen House and Senate districts. The digital ads and direct mailers will primarily highlight the failures of Republicans in the state legislature to address gun violence, and fight for the health and economic security of Pennsylvania families.

As part of this effort, Everytown will target the following Pennsylvania House and Senate districts:

STATE HOUSE TARGETS: HD-018, HD-026, HD-028, HD-030, HD-044, HD-105, HD-106, HD-144, HD-147, HD-152, HD-160, HD-189

STATE SENATE TARGETS: SD-013, SD-015, SD-037, SD-049

“For years now, Republican leaders in Pennsylvania’s legislature have chosen to put gun lobby interests ahead of public safety, but now the choice lies with the people,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is going all out to help voters hold gun lobby lawmakers accountable for their refusal to pass common sense laws to keep our families safe.”

“We’re making sure every Pennsylvanian knows where candidates stand on gun safety because lives are on the line,” said Katie Leslie, a volunteer with the Pennsylvania chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We’ve seen the dangerous bills the legislature has pushed instead of strengthening our gun laws, and we’ve had enough. We’re ready to elect a gun sense majority in Pennsylvania.”

WATCH “SAFER” AND “FAILED US.”
View a sample of the static ads here.
View a sampling of the mail pieces below:

A January survey found that the majority of voters in Pennsylvania support stronger gun safety laws:

  • Over three-quarters of Pennsylvania voters (78%), including 82% of voters who support stronger gun laws, consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020.  
  • 64% of voters would never vote for a candidate who doesn’t support background checks on all gun sales, putting the issue on par with health care and national security in voters’ minds.  
  • Further, nearly 60% of voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes a red flag law (58%); 70% are less likely to support someone who stands in the way of background checks for all gun sales.

Governor Wolf has pushed for strong gun safety legislation like an extreme risk protection law and background checks on all gun sales, but Republican legislative leaders have refused to take them up. Republicans currently hold a nine seat majority in the Pennsylvania state House and a four seat majority in the state Senate. In order to elect gun sense majorities in both chambers, Everytown is targeting districts across the Commonwealth, from western portions of Pennsylvania, to the capitol region, to northeast Pennsylvania, including suburban seats around Pittsburgh, and southeast Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

This year, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund will spend $60 million on the 2020 elections, doubling what they spent during the 2018 elections.

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