Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which is now, along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, part of the Everytown for Gun Safety coalition. (Photo: Everytown)
A Maine-based journalist claims to have received an email from a former employee of the anti-gun group Everytown for Gun Safety that outlines several disturbing campaign tactics used by the organization in the recent election.
The emails describe how Everytown strategically chooses rural areas where it can hire employees at low wages and purchase a greater number of advertisements. The group hires “field staffs” to appear grassroots-driven, but the real backing comes from “political elites” and “billionaires.”
This information comes from a message sent to George Smith, a journalist who runs a popular blog in Maine called “George’s Outdoor News.” The email sender claims to have recently worked for Everytown’s failed ballot campaign to require universal background checks in Maine.
As we reported in November, the Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action have recently begun pushing for anti-gun ballot initiatives in states like Maine, Nevada, Washington, and California.
These initiatives appear impartial and democratic, but, in reality, they are typically won by the side that spends the most money. Rather than work through state or federal legislatures, anti-gun groups pour money into advertisements in an attempt to sway public opinion just prior to the vote.
They were successful in Nevada, Washington, and California in November, and they’ll likely continue to use the tactic in the future.
Now we might have a window into the disturbing inner workings of these campaigns.
SEE ALSO: Bloomberg’s $20 Million Background Check Law Suspended By Nevada Attorney General
The alleged employee begins by noting that “it is widely acknowledged within the organization that background checks are not particularly effective at preventing gun violence, but that it is just one step in the national movement towards gun control.”
He also notes that Everytown adopted a “retaliatory work environment” and even performed “invasive” background checks on their employees by hiring private investigators to acquire information beyond what is legally accessible.
Rather than working in expensive, metropolitan areas, Everytown strategically chooses rural, lower-income areas to push its agenda. Once it chooses a location, it hires a field staff of employees so that the ballot initiative appears to be driven by the local grassroots.
In reality, the entire movement is a sham funded by out-of-state billionaires like Michael Bloomberg looking to “take advantage of communities to further their own political careers and financial status.”
The former employee sees Bloomberg’s anti-gun agenda, not as a means to solve “gun crime” but as a way advance his presidential aspirations.
Ultimately, these “citizen-driven” campaigns are the first step in the fight for stricter gun regulations nationwide.
The email Smith posted claims to have included documentary evidence of his employment with Everytown, but Smith does not include these documents in his article. Presumably, if the former employee is worried about retaliation, Smith did not post these documents to protect his source.
All I have to say about these groups is if BLOOMIE give up his armed security (being one the eight people that owns half of the worlds wealth) I might listen to him. he wants his so we can not have ours. This is simple when all hell breaks lose he want to be able to keep his stuff and wealth and does not give a RATS ASS about us Defending our.
Bloomberg and his Every Town Against Gun Safety has failed in Nevada! Seems in their haste to write a law they neglected to do the proper researcher and screwed the pooch. The Nevada AG has declared the law null and void. Nevada state law prohibits failed legislation to be placed on another ballot for 3 years. I believe this was posted on this website a few weeks back. If not and I run across it, I will post it here.
A report published in 2013 by The National Institute of Justice, the research agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, found the effectiveness of Universal Background Checks depends on the ability to reduce Straw Purchases which will require GUN RGISTRATION.
In 2012, Canada repealed its gun registration law because after 14 years and a cost of $2.7 billion, it has never been credited with solving or preventing a single crime.
It seems to me if just these two pieces of information became well known, it would greatly reduce the chances of universal background checks becoming law.
So this is a surprise? I don’t see this as any worse than Glock’s use of temp workers to keep from having to pay benefits and better wages to many of its employees. While I hold no candle for any anti-gun organization nor any hatred for Glock pistols, I see this as just another loophole that’s being exploited, except its by the other side. Sure, we need to be aware of it….same as we need to know about Glock.
No, Glock does not hire “temp workers” to appear as a grass roots political organization. These are two very different issues.
I have been working for Glock in the Shipping & Receiving dept for over six years. The only “temps” we have come from agency when we need additional personnel for a short time. And the same folks come back time and time again ( a security measure). Sometimes they are even hired as a regular salary employee – as in my case.