Five Questions with Political Activist Shannon Watts

Shannon Watts is a mother of five who founded Moms Demand Action. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, she started a Facebook group with the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun violence. The online conversation turned into a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that protect people everywhere from gun violence. By the time Shannon stepped back from her leadership position at the end of 2023, Moms Demand Action now has a chapter in every state of the country. It’s part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, with nearly 10 million supporters.

Doing that takes a certain level of savvy and an ability to get things done in the political world.

So it came as no surprise when Shannon saw a need shortly after President Biden announced he would not run again and did something about it. As Kamala Harris moved forward, Shannon understood that white women needed to answer the call for support from Black women who staged a massive organizing rally on Zoom. She jumped into the breach on Twitter and had the next move in the works within days.

I’m delighted to have her as our guest tonight for “Five Questions” to help us understand what we can and should be doing in the run-up to the election and beyond. Although much of her advice is geared towards activating white women who haven’t voted or have voted for Trump in the past, it resonates across a much larger audience and can be helpful for all of us as we have conversations with the people in our communities.

Shannon’s book, “Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World,” was released in May of 2019 and is available here. She also writes a Substack, Playing with Fire, that she calls “a community of badass women (and supporters!) who want to find and nurture the spark inside and learn to live on fire.” She came to the world of activism from a career as a communications executive at public relations firms and Fortune 100 companies and has a strong sense of what has to happen in the next 90 days, with democracy on the line.

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