Gun Violence Prevention Advocates Reach Milestone of 100 Consecutive Months of Protest at the NRA Headquarters

Fairfax, Virginia, April 12, 2021 - On Wednesday, April 14, 2021 citizens concerned about gun violence in the United States will mark their 100th consecutive month protesting the gun lobby’s complicity in our nation’s gun violence epidemic outside of the National Rifle Association Headquarters. This protest has occurred on the 14th of each month since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The 14th of each month has taken on even greater significance for the gun violence prevention movement in the subsequent years, as the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred on February 14, 2018.

Martina Leinz, protest organizer and Brady Board Member and Virginia Chapter President shared:

“We gather each month to remember the lives lost but also to call out the gun lobby for thwarting sensible legislation to curb gun violence. The NRA is only concerned with gun industry profits, and apparently, enriching their leadership, and not with preventing gun injuries and deaths."

This week’s protest will be held from 10:00 am to 11:00 am ET, in front of the headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Fairfax, Virginia, and will feature remarks from Virginia Attorney General, Mark Herring, who has fought for better gun laws in the Commonwealth both as a state legislator and as Attorney General. Last month, Herring sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to better regulate “ghost guns,” an action addressed in President Biden’s recent slate of proposals to reduce gun violence.

Activists have protested monthly at the NRA on the 14th, since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on December 14, 2012 more than eight years ago. Now the 14th is also the anniversary of the murder of 17 at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on February 14, 2018.

In the more than eight years of the monthly protests, many elected leaders have joined those at the NRA calling for sensible changes to our nation’s lax gun laws including Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Congressman Gerry Connolly. Victims and advocates from across the country have also joined the protests including Pat Maisch, the grandmother who helped prevent the Tucson shooter from reloading in the attack that killed six and wounded 13 others including Rep. Gabby Giffords, and David Hogg, survivor of the Parkland, FL shooting and one of the leaders of March for Our Lives.

For more information, contact Martina Leinz, President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of Brady United Against Gun Violence and organizer of the event at 703-969-3529.