The founder of Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts spoke to Elon students and answered questions during the Liberal Arts Forum on Oct. 23.
Shannon Watts remembers folding laundry for her five kids on a cold day in Indiana in 2012 when the news of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting first broke.
“Like many parents that day all across the country, I just had to sit down and watch the horrific tragedy,” said Watts, as she addressed an audience of students, faculty and staff on Oct. 23 for the Liberal Arts Forum in Whitley Auditorium, moderated by Dillan Bono-Lunn, assistant professor of political science and public policy.
Recalling the Sandy Hook shooting, Watts could not believe that 20 children and six educators lost their lives, and her disbelief and sadness over that fact transitioned into “abject rage.”
The morning following the Sandy Hook shooting, Watts started a Facebook page titled “1 Million Moms for Gun Control,” just for her 75 Facebook friends at the time. Within a short amount of time, that Facebook page and Watts were on the cover of USA Today. Watts had women and moms from across the country reaching out to her about wanting to make a change in order to guarantee gun safety and control.
That Facebook page eventually transformed into the organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, now a leading force for gun violence prevention with chapters in all 50 states and a powerful grassroots network that has successfully effected change at the local, state, and national levels.
Watts was inspired by the previous movement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which was founded and grew in popularity in the 1980s. She remembered a time in high school, looking out the windows of her school and seeing advocates for the organization using a tow truck to drag a car across campus grounds that had been in a drunk driving accident.
“It still had the blood on it, all the windows were shattered and it was just a visceral message of ‘don’t drink and drive,’” she said
Watts credits the present-day local and federal policies addressing drunk driving to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s method of messaging and consistency around the cause.
According to Watts, Moms Demand Action are notable for using the power of social media and “public shame” in order to inflict political change and awareness. When retailers like Chipotle and Starbucks had open carry policies in their stores, volunteers of the organization would create hashtags, like #BurritosnotBullets and staged boycotts or “momcotts” on retailers that allowed open carry in their establishments.
Moms Demand Action would also call their local representatives and sit in on federal hearings about guns. In one instance, volunteers brought strollers and their children into Congressional and Senate hearings to raise awareness.
“Democrats and Republicans alike, if they were talking about guns, the Senate, galleries, statehouses and Congress would be filled with gun rights supporters” Watts said. “And suddenly there were hundreds of women wearing red shirts who were showing up with kids, breastfeeding and knitting during these sessions.”
Elon students were welcomed to ask Watts questions regarding her success with grassroots movements and how they could implement the same strategies in present-day political struggles.
Since 1958, the Liberal Arts Forum has brought distinguished guests to Elon and sparked meaningful conversations around the humanities and social sciences.
Chelsea Bediako ‘29 went to the event because she wanted to learn from grassroots activists in terms of turning pain into purpose.
“Especially in our political climate where things can feel hopeless, it’s important to recognize practical and attainable methods of organizing to bring about real change,” Bediako said.
Watts described her battles with the National Rifle Association and legislators who only provide “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting instead of a plan to prevent the next shooting from happening. Watts says she constantly encouraged volunteers and supporters of Mom Demand Action to never give up on the cause.
“We are very conscientious about celebrating every win, and even when we lost, we were losing forward.” Watts said. “So maybe you lost a legislative battle, but you grew your chapter, or you learned something new that will help you win next time … We beat the tobacco industry, we beat the alcohol industry, I believe it is your generation that can beat the firearm industry.”