Donations Spotlight: How Brady: United Against Gun Violence fights to make a difference

Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, Brady: United Against Gun Violence is among three amazing nonprofits that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support Brady in its fight to free America from gun violence.

Read this important blog post from Brady, then visit CREDO Donations and cast your vote to help send vital grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.

Gun violence is a uniquely American crisis that devastates communities nationwide. Every day, more than 300 people are shot, and of those shot, over 100 are killed. For the third consecutive year, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in America and it has long been the leading cause of death for Black children. And if the physical toll isn’t enough, gun violence costs the United States $557 billion annually.

But despite what the gun industry claims, this public health crisis is preventable if we enact comprehensive, evidence-based solutions.

Since our founding in 1974, Brady has led the charge on solutions to free America from gun violence. Inspired by the roadmap behind successful movements to curb youth smoking, promote seatbelt use, and prevent drunk driving, we focus our efforts across three critical areas:

• Change the laws
• Change the industry
• Change the culture

Holding the Line in D.C. While Securing Big Wins in Statehouses Nationwide

It’s no secret that we find ourselves up against a presidential administration that is determined to undermine public safety. After the election where gun lobby-backed politicians won the Senate and House, they immediately set to work trying to roll back hard-won progress and pass dangerous legislation. Brady is fighting harder than ever to protect life-saving gun policies and stop the NRA’s deadly “guns everywhere” agenda. Under Trump’s first administration, gun homicides rose 34% and gun violence became the leading cause of death for children and teens. Brady is fighting to stop another deadly four years.

The Attorney General has been tasked with examining all progress made on guns by the Biden administration and do away with any policies that “infringed” on Second Amendment rights. The truth is, all the consequential progress we made in the last four years never threatened the rights of law-abiding gun owners; it was directed at closing deadly loopholes that allowed rogue gun dealers to stay in business and preventing prohibited purchasers — like gun traffickers, domestic abusers, and youth — from illegally obtaining weapons.

Meanwhile in Congress, gun lobby-backed lawmakers have introduced their top legislative priority, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This legislation would dramatically increase the number of people carrying hidden, loaded firearms anywhere, regardless of state or local law.

It’s no shock that legislation like this is proven to increase gun violence — in some cases by as much as 15%. Brady’s policy team and our grassroots organizers are fighting tooth and nail against this bill, which we successfully stopped during Trump’s first term. We are educating the public on the risks of a concealed carry mandate and sending messages to lawmakers to show that more guns in public is not the country that most Americans want, including the majority of Republican voters.

While we face lawmakers who are more beholden to the gun lobby than the American people, Brady is still making progress in state legislatures across the country. In 2024, there were 73 Brady priority bills that were passed by state legislatures, 42 of which were signed into law.  These laws take a comprehensive approach to address gun violence in all its forms. So far in 2025, Karina’s Bill was signed into law in Illinois, which will ensure that firearms are relinquished by those subject to a domestic violence restraining order. This is a life-saving measure that will protect those experiencing domestic violence. In Hawai’i, key gun safety bills — including a secure storage requirement, strengthening the state’s assault weapons ban, and the creation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention — are advancing in the legislature. This is just a snapshot of our wins in statehouses nationwide, but each victory reaffirms that even when Congress is gridlocked, we can make vital progress in communities across the country.

Changing Cultural Norms and Promoting Secure Firearm Storage

Every day in America, eight kids are unintentionally injured or killed as a result of family fire, a shooting that results from someone misusing an unsecured firearm from  the home.

Our non-partisan, award-winning End Family Fire program promotes responsible gun ownership, spreading awareness about the life-saving role of secure firearm storage to prevent such tragedies.  Family fire, which includes unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and many intentional shootings, impacts youth, veterans,  gun owners, and more in America. But our program — which is the only national program that uses the power of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to bring gun owners into the conversation to reduce firearm deaths — is making a real, lasting impact in communities across the country.

In fact, research shows that 71% of gun owners who have seen our safe gun storage PSAs agree that storing all of their guns locked and unloaded reduces the risk of someone dying by suicide in their home — a stark increase from when we launched the program seven years ago. Additionally, according to a study from our partners at the  Ad Council, over half of gun owners or adults in gun-owning households who are aware of End Family Fire report that they have taken steps to store their firearms more safely. So whether or not you own a firearm, we can all be part of the solution. By simply sharing our PSAs, you will help prevent incidents of family fire and save lives. 

Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Around Firearms by Engaging Creatives to #Show Gun Safety

Culture-makers, like writers, directors, and actors, have always had a deep influence on how we think of ourselves, what we value, and how we act. They’ve helped shift attitudes around public health crises, like smoking, drunk driving, and seatbelt usage.

Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign works with leaders in Hollywood to spark positive behavior change and reshape America’s relationship with guns.

For more than two years, Brady has worked with the creative community — including Emmy and Academy Award winners — to harness the power of culture-makers to model gun safety on screen. Our campaign has already made a significant impact in Hollywood, working with 12 studios, streamers, and networks — three of which have formally incorporated our principles into their writers’ manuals or materials. We have influenced over 150 million viewers, with approximately 46 million directly exposed to scripts that have been modified to include gun safety, and we’ve also engaged more than 1,000 members of the TV and film industry (including 12 writers’ rooms for major TV shows) in conversations about responsible gun portrayals. By integrating accurate depictions of gun safety practices and emphasizing accountability, Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign helps shape public perceptions of firearms and complements the End Family Fire program’s goal of making secure gun storage the cultural norm.

Today, there are more firearms than people in America, and we know it’s likely they will always have a role in the shows and films we watch. Our Show Gun Safety campaign does not ask anyone to stop showing guns on screen. But our nation’s content creators and storytellers have the power to model safety norms and show the consequences of reckless gun use — depictions that help guide us to a safer America free of gun violence. Learn more about Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign today. 

Winning Legal Reforms and Taking the Gun Industry to Court

Brady Legal takes on the gun industry in court to secure justice for the victims and survivors of gun violence, pro bono. Brady’s litigation centers on limiting the gun industry’s special protections and reforming the practices of irresponsible industry actors.

Recently, with the support of Brady’s legal team, the family members of 3 victims of gun violence, reached a settlement of more than $2.4 million against Academy Sports + Outdoors, one of the nation’s largest gun dealers. In 2016, three people were found shot and killed on the property of a now-convicted serial killer. The killer, who was legally prohibited from buying a firearm, used a firearm sold by Academy Sports + Outdoors in an illegal straw purchase. Had Academy Sports + Outdoors acted responsibly they may still be alive today. And while we cannot bring them back, we at Brady are proud to have represented their families and to work toward ensuring no other family suffers in this way.

This settlement also sends a clear message to members of the gun industry that if they choose to participate in negligent and unlawful business practices, they will be held accountable. To date, our legal team has won over $70 million dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of victims and survivors of gun violence.