Our dialogue partner in episode 22 of the Montana DSA 2023 Podcast Series is Shani Henry of Helena, a statewide leader of two Montana groups working to prevent gun violence -- Montana Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and the Montana Chapter of Giffords Gun Owners for Safety (MT-GOS), founded by former member of Congress Gabby Giffords of Arizona, a gun violence attack victim now committed to ending the gun violence epidemic. Convinced that gun deaths are preventable, these two Montana groups are committed to tackling the gun violence epidemic through advocacy, public education, and policy change – and they invite us to join in their work of helping each other and our Montana neighbors across the state find the courage to speak out for change to say and show that the NRA and gun lobby don’t speak for them.
Shani Henry describes how members of these two grassroots Montana action networks have been deeply troubled by the fact that Montana has more firearms per capita than any other state, by the fact that Montana in 2021 had the seventh highest gun death rate among the states, by the fact that Montana has the 2nd highest per capita suicide rate in the nation and the 9th highest overall gun death date.
The increasing number of gun-related injuries and deaths (including suicides), in Montana and throughout the country leads MT-GOS and Moms Demand Action to assert that “Montana’s lack of even the most basic gun safety laws puts its residents at enormous risk, and the failure of state lawmakers to save lives from gun violence is unconscionable” and that Montana’s dangerous “stand your ground” law and weak public carry laws make it far too easy for daily arguments to turn into deadly shootouts. They are responding by working to foster a culture where Montanans are informed about what makes them safer, hoping to inspire us to fight for a better future by promoting firearm safety and responsibility and by holding accountable those who seek to profit at the
expense of public safety, including the gun lobby and entrenched special interest groups.
