Annual Report

With gun violence the leading killer of children in America, Brady refuses to accept inaction from elected officials at any level. And since the election of President Trump, we have fought tooth and nail to protect the historic progress we have accomplished to reduce gun violence. 

Conversion devices called forced reset triggers, which turn semi-automatic firearms into rapid-fire machine guns and which were previously heavily regulated, are now readily available to anyone under federal law — no background check required.

In the dozens of states where Brady’s state policy team is hard at work, we drove thousands of messages to lawmakers urging them to vote to protect their communities from gun violence. 

Too often, individuals see a loved one in crisis and feel helpless — unsure of where to turn or how to intervene. In many states, there is a clear step that individuals can take to prevent a terrible tragedy: file an extreme risk protection order, or ERPO. 

You might be surprised to know the #1 purchaser of guns in America: Taxpayers. Across the country, law enforcement agencies spend more than $5 billion a year on firearms. A groundbreaking investigation by Brady found that at least millions of these dollars have gone to gun dealers that have been cited for violations of federal gun laws — sometimes repeatedly.

In 2016, Ashtian Barnes, a 24-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a police officer during a supposedly routine traffic stop. When Barnes’ mother brought an excessive force claim against the officer who killed her son, it was dismissed because of the “moment-of-threat” doctrine, a legal principle that has been used to shield police officers from accountability. 

Brady’s End Family Fire program launched two new campaigns in summer 2024, reaching the diversifying base of gun owners in America. This included a campaign created specifically for first-time gun owners and the first-ever national Spanish language public education campaign on secure firearm storage, aimed at reaching Hispanic gun owners, who are among the fastest-growing demographic groups purchasing firearms. 

Now in its third year, our Show Gun Safety campaign has trained over 1,000 screenwriters, producers, and studio executives on how to responsibly depict firearms in film and television. We’re partnering with major players like Paramount, CBS Studios, and Walt Disney Studios because we know that storytelling has the power to effect wide-scale change.

Every day in America, clinicians walk into exam rooms to talk to patients about health risks. But too often, there is a topic they don’t address: firearm access. In a country where millions of people live in homes with unlocked firearms, this omission contributes to daily tragedies.