Dear GAGV,
With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the end of the year following close behind, I’ve been reflecting on what I am thankful for throughout this past year. More than anything else, I am grateful for you and for all who are part of a community of friends and supporters who stand by GAGV and our mission to end gun violence -- even when the going gets tough.
Starting Global Action on Gun Violence was a risky proposition. We decided to try bold new strategies to end gun violence in the United States and to stop its spread throughout the region -- legal, international, and human rights actions that avoid political gridlock and create powerful new pressure on bad actors in the gun industry and U.S. policymakers. We believed we had the right approach, but we needed supporters who were willing to put their faith in us. You stepped up.
You helped make our landmark human rights campaign to establish a right to live free from gunfire a huge success. We brought an unprecedented action on behalf of Patricia and Manny Oliver, and their son, Joaquin, who was killed in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Our Lawsuit for Survival argues that the U.S. violated Joaquin’s human right to live free from gunfire and calls on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to demand that the U.S. implement strong gun policies to prevent mass shootings and other gun violence. This year, the Commission moved the case forward to the merits stage.
As you will see below, we received major support for the lawsuit from the global cosmetic company Lush, which promoted the case in all of its U.S. stores and invited customers to sign our petition in support of the Olivers.
Your support continues to help us move innovative cases against the gun industry forward. In Canada, an appeals court allowed the first case against the U.S. gun industry in a foreign court to move ahead.
Just last month, in the first lawsuit against gun dealers ever filed by a national government, we won major victories in Arizona that will force the gun dealer defendants to hand over important discovery to help Mexico prove its case.
Having fought to prevent gun violence for almost 30 years, I know that no one person or organization alone can fix the problems the gun industry has created in the U.S. and throughout the globe. But together, a safer world is possible. Thank you for being on this journey of change with us.
Jon Lowy
Founder & President
P.S. Please make a donation now to help Global Action on Gun Violence continue the fight!
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Photo credit: Shutterstock |
GAGV Wins Favorable Ruling in Mexico’s Anti-Trafficking Lawsuit Against Gun Dealers
In October, the Federal District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order in the all-important discovery phase of Mexico’s lawsuit against five gun dealers, Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. Diamondback, which GAGV helped bring and litigate. Responding to a multitude of motions on a variety of discovery disputes, the order largely favored GAGV’s positions, including requiring the defendants to participate in the discovery process in good faith under threat of sanctions and requiring them to produce sales records from straw purchases.
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GAGV is a leading voice at a Public Health Summit on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms
Earlier this year, GAGV Founder and President Jon Lowy participated in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Summit on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms alongside our Advisory Committee member, Dr. Stephen Hargarten. Dr. Hargarten is featured in the insightful video featured above
The Summit brought together 60 experts to debate and discuss innovations to reduce firearm violence in the U.S. by 2040. As a result, a paper was published in JAMA this month, with Jon as a collaborator and Dr. Hargarten as an author. The report opens by stating that “[t]he collective responsibility of society is to safeguard the health and safety of its members, including from firearm harms.”
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GAGV Advisory Committee Member Wins MacArthur Genius Grant
GAGV would like to congratulate our Advisory Committee member Ieva Jusionyte, who was awarded the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Grant! Dr. Jusionyte is a cultural anthropologist at Brown University whose work has focused on the harm done by U.S. guns in Mexico. Her most recent book, Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border (2024), was a masterful examination of how U.S. gun laws allow guns to be trafficked to neighboring countries and contribute to drug trafficking, organized crime, human migration, high homicide rates, and other harms impacting the Americas. We are grateful for all our Advisory Committee members who are experts from around the world on issues relevant to global gun violence prevention efforts!
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Photo credit: Emily Zoffer |
Lush Campaign Nominated for Greater Good Awards
We are thrilled that the Lush campaign for the Lawsuit for Survival was named a finalist for 2025 Greater Good Awards. The campaign drew more than 690,000 visitors into Lush stores, raised $150,000 for gun violence prevention efforts through product sales, and drove more than 3,700 petition signatures in support of the case. A big thanks to all who participated in the campaign!
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Give to GAGV Today
We are up against the billion-dollar gun industry. But we know we can win. Donate today to help us hold bad actors in the gun industry to account in court. We can't do it without you!
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