Video: Everytown for Gun Safety, Missy Cotter Smasal Campaign Run TV Ad Featuring Virginia Beach Mass Shooting Survivor

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced that it is contributing $100,000 to Missy Cotter Smasal’s campaign for Virginia’s 8th Senate District in order to help air a powerful new TV ad in the Hampton Roads media market, and be incorporated into Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s digital advertising campaign in Virginia’s 2019 elections. The contribution is part of Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund’s $2.5 million effort to elect a gun sense majority in Virginia’s General Assembly — Everytown’s most robust commitment ever in the Commonwealth. Last week, Everytown donated $175,000 to support gun safety-themed TV ad buys totaling $400,000 from Sheila Bynum-Coleman in Virginia’s 66th House District and John Bell in Virginia’s 13th Senate District.

The TV ad, “Karen,” features Karen Havekost, a survivor of the Virginia Beach mass shooting that left 12 people dead and four more wounded, speaking direct-to-camera. In the ad, Havekost describes encountering the shooter in the hallway at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, and criticizes Senator Bill DeSteph for voting to block gun safety legislation after the mass shooting.

WATCH: “KAREN”

“You can learn a lot about leaders by how they respond to a crisis — so it speaks volumes that Missy Cotter Smasal responded to the Virginia Beach tragedy by organizing a town hall on gun violence prevention, while Bill DeSteph opted to speak at an NRA meeting and oppose background check and red flag laws,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is going all-in to flip the General Assembly and create a gun-sense majority that will stand up for people of the Commonwealth — not the gun lobby.”

Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly 6 million supporters and more than 350,000 donors including moms, mayors, survivors and everyday Americans who are fighting for public safety measures that can help save lives. At the core of Everytown are Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Students Demand Action and the Everytown Survivor Network. Learn more at www.everytown.org and follow us @Everytown

About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families. Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and, along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Students Demand Action and the Everytown Survivor Network, it is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly 6 million supporters and more than 350,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand