Gun violence takes nearly 40,000 lives and leaves over 100,000 people injured every year, creating collective trauma, limiting educational and social advancement, damaging communities economically, and infringing on the fundamental American right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Gun violence undeniably intersects with many issues facing Americans today: systemic racism, voter suppression, subversion of democracy, and economic injustice, to name a few. In order to fully meet the challenges laid before us, we must consider how interconnected these issues are — for those lost to gun violence, for the countless individuals directly and indirectly impacted by gun violence whose lives will never be the same, and for the overall health and economic well-being of the nation.

We need common-sense gun safety policies at the local, state, and federal levels to lay the groundwork for a future free from the fear of gun violence.

Gun violence in America is a complex issue in need of a comprehensive solution.

American gun violence will persist absent targeted solutions that both address root causes and tackle each unique form of gun violence. Through legislative and executive action, and direct engagement with the American people, there is an opportunity to change the trajectory of gun violence in the United States and lay the foundations for lasting positive change.

Brady believes in a three prong policy approach to tackling the issue of gun violence.

1. Embrace the need for democratic reforms

We cannot comprehensively and adequately address gun violence until we fix unjust democratic systems. Laying the foundations for reforms that will prevent statutory stonewalling and special interest influence, as well as expanding representative democracy and protecting the disenfranchised, is critical to the future of the movement and the nation.

2. Expand the Brady Background Check System

The Brady Background Check System has successfully prevented millions of prohibited purchases since its implementation, saving countless lives, but gaps in the law have arisen over the years.Expanding and strengthening this system is crucial to ensuring foundational support for all other guns laws.

3. Address gun violence in all of its forms

The strategies, policies, and methods necessary to prevent the various forms of gun violence require an approach tailored to each of their root causes, and policymakers must account for the ways in which gun violence impacts every community differently.