- Press Release
March For Our Lives Announces Endorsements in New York
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New York, NY — Today, March For Our Lives is announcing our endorsement of three candidates running for US House in New York ahead of the 2024 election. These candidates are gun safety champions who look at this epidemic from an intersectional lens, ready to fight for safer communities in New York and across the country. This is our third round of endorsements, following Arizona and Michigan. In this critical election, winning back a gun safety majority runs straight through must-win districts in New York, and March For Our Lives is pleased to endorse these candidates and organize the youth vote behind them to ensure that we can win common sense gun safety laws in the new Congress.
March For Our Lives is proud to endorse Mondaire Jones for NY-17, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for NY-14, and Yvette Clarke for NY-09.
New York’s 17th Congressional District: Former Congressman Mondaire Jones
Former Congressman Mondaire Jones is a fierce champion of gun safety and a staunch defender of young people. We are pleased to support him in his must-win race in NY-17 and are especially excited by his bold stances on key issues that are important to young people. His staunch support of key pieces of legislation like universal background checks, safe storage requirements, an assault weapons ban, and repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to hold the gun industry accountable for its role in fueling the gun violence epidemic, make clear that Jones is on the side of the people—not in the pocket of the NRA. We are particularly excited about this race, as Jones has committed to creating a youth advisory board to ensure his work in Congress reflects the needs of young people in his district.
Meanwhile, it couldn’t be clearer where his opponent Michael Lawler stands. He is an NRA-backed politician who is far more interested in the gun lobby’s blood money than in his constituents’ safety. In his short time in office, he has time and again opposed common-sense gun safety legislation. Even after the recent shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia in which an assault weapon was used to kill two students and two teachers, Lawler still does not support an assault weapons ban. The choice couldn’t be clearer, and we’re excited to fight to put Mondaire Jones in Congress.
New York’s 14th Congressional District: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Representing New York’s 14th Congressional District, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a champion of progressive politics, and has utterly shifted the narrative on what is possible in DC. Coming into Congress as one of the youngest people in the chamber, she is a tireless fighter for the issues that matter most to our generation, including a bold champion for gun safety. Following the 2022 shootings in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, she helped lead the effort to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first federal gun safety package signed into law in about 30 years. Since then, AOC has continued to advocate for essential gun violence prevention legislation like expanded background checks and an assault weapons ban and helped shift the narrative on public safety through her vocal support of bills like the People’s Response Act. We have a bold champion for young people in the United States Congress in AOC, and we’re excited to fight alongside her in this election and beyond.
New York’s Ninth Congressional District: Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke is a staunch gun safety advocate with a track record of championing legislation that addresses the root causes of gun violence. Throughout her time in Congress, she has signed onto several gun violence prevention bills, including the People’s Response Act and the Counseling Not Criminalization Act, two bills that would transform the way we approach public safety and gun violence. Day in and day out, young people know that we can rely on her to fight for the issues that matter most to us, and we’re eager to continue to support her run and return another gun safety champion to office.
Since our founding, March for Our Lives has helped drive youth voter turnout to record highs, and the 2024 election will be no different. Gun violence remains a central issue for young voters and is currently ranked among the top three issues for youth nationwide in this election cycle. Polling released just weeks ago underscored the importance of gun safety to young people and indicated that a bold message advocating for common sense gun safety laws is a winning ticket to electoral victory. This cycle, March For Our Lives is pleased to endorse our very first candidates for office and leverage the muscle of a nationwide network of young people to make calls and knock on doors for candidates committed to gun safety and fighting for our lives.
“The choice is clear: on the one hand, NRA-fueled carnage. On the other, a safer, more just world where all of us can thrive,” said Natalie Fall, Executive Director of March For Our Lives. “We’re enthused to support these gun safety champions’ bids for office and help build brick-by-brick, election-by-election, the gun safety majority we’ll need to build the safer world we all deserve. New York is a pivotal proving ground for control of the House and has sent champions like AOC to vocally push the needle on what’s possible on gun safety and so much more. Our momentum is only growing, and we are excited to make gun violence prevention a top priority in this election.”
Last month, March For Our Lives made our first-ever endorsement, coming out in support of Kamala Harris. But we know that to make meaningful progress on gun safety, we need champions at all levels of government. That’s why we are building on that momentum to meet this moment. We have carefully evaluated candidates for Congress, opting only to endorse those who share our commitment to preventing gun violence with a holistic vision and community-based solutions. The candidates we endorse have demonstrated a deep understanding of the issues surrounding gun violence and have committed to prioritizing young people’s voices while in office. They have agreed to fight for several of our policy priorities including firearm regulation and access, creating safe and healthy communities, and promoting a democracy for all. We’re excited to hit the streets and fight for them.
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