**MEDIA ADVISORY**

For Thursday, June 8, 8:30 pm ET

America’s moms want gun policy reform that will keep kids, families, and communities safe – yet we are far from achieving that today. The national debate about gun violence and gun policy reform rests on an understanding of the Second Amendment that was shaped by the NRA and other pro-gun extremists. Their definition asserts that the right to bear arms is – and always has been – a bedrock Constitutional right that guarantees freedom. But what if that isn’t true?

MomsRising will host a Teach-In designed to shed light on little-known aspects of our history and the real roots of gun violence at:

 8:30 pm Thursday, June 8

WITH

Carl Bogus, Distinguished Research Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law and author of Madison's Militia: The Hidden History of the Second Amendment

Mary Ann Franks, professor of law and the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the University of Miami School of Law and author of The Cult of the Constitution: Our Deadly Devotion to Guns and Free Speech

Michele Ozumba, President, Jeannette Rankin Foundation

The gun violence epidemic the country is experiencing threatens and terrifies nearly everyone and has disproportionately harmful impacts on communities of color and other vulnerable communities. This Teach-In will offer a look at history reaching back to our country’s founding. It will include an examination of how the NRA began crafting and selling its own version of Second Amendment steeped in white supremacy, bringing us to where we are today with runaway gun violence, a rising number of hate crimes, and insurrectionism. 

Experts will also address the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller and the unfolding impact of its decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.

“Our terrible gun violence epidemic is predicated on a false understanding of the Second Amendment that was manufactured by gun rights extremists,” says Gloria Pan, MomsRising Senior Vice President of Gun Control. “If we could change that misunderstanding to what the right to bear arms was really about – racial subjugation – then we might be better positioned to finally change the horrible trajectory that has led to record levels of gun violence.” 

For registration information or to request a recording of the Teach-In after the event, media should email lisa@momsrising.org with your name, media outlet, phone, and email address.