Five years after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, there’s still no sign of comprehensive gun safety legislation out of Congress. With President Donald Trump in office, backed by $30 million of National Rifle Association (NRA) funding, legislative solutions look more and more unlikely. On this episode, Sarah Clements shares her deeply personal experience of the shooting at Sandy Hook, waiting for news about her mother’s fate, and how it propelled her to advocate for gun violence prevention. Then, Michele and Igor speak with Chelsea Parsons, vice president of Guns and Crime Policy at the Center for American Progress, about the continued fight for solutions to this issue, the NRA’s playbook, and how gun violence prevention groups can effectively engage with communities of color.
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Michele Jawando is a vice president at the Center for American Progress. Igor Volsky is a vice president at the Center. Sally Tucker is the radio coordinator for Communications at the Center. Rachel Rosen is the senior director of Broadcast Communications at the Center.