That was the first time I cried tears of joy.
Ray Anid, MFOL Alum and Team Frost Staff Member
- Blog
Electing Gun Safety Champions: Ray Anid’s Story
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If we want a future free of gun violence, we need to advocate for true leaders up and down the ballot who will fight for common sense gun laws. Since our founding in 2018, March For Our Lives has led the charge to put bold, courageous leaders in office by turning out young voters. Our work has helped spur a historic increase in youth voter turnout and solidify gun safety as a top issue on voters’ minds. This year, we announced our first-ever endorsements because we know how consequential it is to elect gun safety champions.
For March For Our Lives alum, Ray Anid, electing gun safety champions extends far beyond the voting booth. After four years advocating for gun violence prevention as a volunteer and then as a staff member at MFOL, she was offered an opportunity she couldn’t pass up: helping elect the first Gen Z and Afro-Cuban Congressman, Maxwell Frost, AKA the former National Organizing Director at MFOL.
Becoming a Gun Safety Activist
Ray was finishing high school in Tampa, Florida when tragedy struck three hours away in Parkland. Like many young people across the country, Ray was heartbroken and determined to fight for a future where students don’t have to use a desk as a shield from bullets. So, she organized a March For Our Lives Tampa protest.
That fall, she moved to Orlando to start school at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and realized her true passion was political advocacy. After running into another student, Trevor Wild, in a March For Our Lives t-shirt, Ray decided to volunteer with MFOL UCF. She went from class to her part-time job to registering students to vote. That’s when she first met Maxwell Frost and eventually joined the national staff of MFOL running social media. Little did she know that their advocacy in Orlando would eventually lead them to the halls of Congress.
Electing the First Gen-Z Congressman
Ray has always seen Maxwell as a mentor, supporting and uplifting her advocacy. When he decided to leave his role as MFOL’s National Organizing Director to run for Congress in 2022, he knew he wanted Ray on his team as a Field Organizer, and Ray knew she wanted to do it. While the thought of joining the campaign trail was intimidating, she was excited to continue to learn from him. Ray “wouldn’t do it for just anyone,” but this was Maxwell, a steadfast gun safety advocate.
The race was an uphill battle. Florida’s 10th District representing Orlando was a stacked playing field with many established opponents. It was Ray’s job to build and expand Team Frost—recruiting volunteers, talking to voters, and amplifying Maxwell’s message of hope. At the election night party, Ray anxiously watched as the votes rolled in. And soon enough, it became official: Maxwell Frost was elected to Congress. Team Frost hugged and cheered and celebrated, knowing their hard work paid off.
Why Ray Fights to Elect Gun Safety Champions
Elected officials are not the solution to everything, but they are an important tool in the toolbox. To pass gun safety legislation, we need lawmakers who are ready to do the work. Rep. Frost is one of those lawmakers, and Ray had worked with him long enough to know that his policy platform was genuine. And that proved to be true. Once in office, Rep. Frost championed the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
“He is us,” Ray explains. “He’s just us in an elected position. And if there were ever another MFOL member or someone who has committed their life to gun violence prevention who runs for office, I’m going to support them. I know that, of course, they will go into office and get it done.”
Fast Forward to 2024
Two years after Team Frost made history, they’re back at it again—knocking on doors and talking to voters to reelect Representative Frost. Ray, now the Field Director, strays from a typical campaign by using year-round organizing. Team Frost is out in the community, getting abortion rights on the ballot and helping flip a seat for a special election. With MFOL’s endorsement and Ray’s community-driven organizing, we are hopeful that Rep. Frost will keep his seat and continue to fight for gun violence prevention in the halls of Congress.
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