1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome back to she Pivots. I'm Shannon Watts. 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 2: Welcome to she Pivots, the podcast where we talk with 3 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: women who dared to pivot out of one career and 4 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 2: into something new and explore how their personal lives impacted 5 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 2: these decisions. I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman. We're speaking 6 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 2: with someone who's not only an iconic activist and leader, 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 2: but someone who is unapologetically woven the personal and the professional. 8 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 3: Throughout her career. Shannon Watts, founder of Mom's Demand Action. 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,480 Speaker 3: Every First Friday in June, we take time to recognize 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 3: Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange to honor survivors 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 3: and build community with those working to end gun violence. 12 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 3: Shannon's work to reduce gun violence has led to more 13 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 3: progress than we've ever seen. She's been named a Time 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 3: Magazine one hundred Most Influential People, a Forbes fifty over 15 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 3: fifty change Maker, and Glamour Woman of the Year. But 16 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 3: Shannon found this work after pivoting not once. 17 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 4: But twice. 18 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 3: She started her career as a young speech writer for 19 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 3: Governor Carnahan and Missouri, not realizing that one day she'd 20 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 3: flex or political muscles to fight gun violence. After building 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 3: a successful career in crisis communications, Shannon proudly left to 22 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 3: be a stay at home mom. It wasn't in until 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 3: December fourteenth, twenty twelve, when Shannon watched alongside all of 24 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 3: us as twenty children were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary 25 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 3: that she made her next pivot. She started a Facebook 26 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 3: group with the message that all Americans can and should 27 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 3: do more to reduce gun violence. The online conversation turned 28 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 3: into grassroots movement, which turned into Mom's Demand Action. During 29 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 3: this time, I also started working on gun violence prevention 30 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 3: in my pre pivot days, I worked Sandy Hook families, 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 3: particularly bringing young people into the movement, and we immediately 32 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 3: heard about Shannon's work. Shan I never actually met in 33 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 3: person at the time, but we both worked on trying 34 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 3: to get Congress to pass universal background checks, which we'll 35 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 3: talk about later in the episode. Shannon's inspiring pivots don't 36 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 3: seem to be stopping, and she also talks about what's 37 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 3: next for her after stepping down as CEO of Mom's 38 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 3: Demand last year. Guns are a uniquely American problem that 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 3: sometimes feels hopeless when we see headline after headline, but 40 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 3: we can make a difference Shannon is a testament to that, 41 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 3: and I hope this episode inspires you all to get 42 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 3: involved to protect people from gun violence. You can visit 43 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 3: our website for organizations to get involved with their contribute 44 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 3: to enjoy. 45 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 4: Can you just tell us a little bit about growing public? 46 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 4: Where did you grow up? 47 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: I was born in Rochester, New York. I was born 48 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: on January first, in nineteen seventy one, and I ended 49 00:02:59,919 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: up being an only child. Had a fun nineteen seventies upbringing. 50 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of the decade of lash Key 51 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: kids and free range children. 52 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 5: You know. 53 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: I would leave in the morning at seven, and I 54 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: would come home at night at seven, and my parents 55 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: really didn't know where I was or what I was doing. 56 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: And a lot of people I talked to who grew 57 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: up in the seventies have that same experience, and I 58 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: think in part when I look back at what I 59 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: was inspired by, you know, Rochester, New York is the 60 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: home of so many activists, and it's what we are 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: taught to revere. 62 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 6: You know. 63 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: We would go on field trips. We would go to 64 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: Susan B. Anthony's house, we would go see where Frederick 65 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: Douglas made speeches. We would see where Harriet Tubman passed through. 66 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: And when I think about my childhood, I think about 67 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: those two things. Sort of the freedom I had to 68 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: grow up and make mistakes and learn, but also what 69 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: I was taught about value use and what was important. 70 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 4: What did you think you wanted to be when you 71 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 4: grew up. 72 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean I was really precocious, So 73 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: I have had ADHD my whole life untreated ADHD. My 74 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: parents had me diagnosed in the nineteen eighties, and you know, 75 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: it's pretty severe if your parents took you in for 76 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: a diagnosis in the nineteen eighties, you know, I began 77 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: failing out of school in middle school. I was getting 78 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: into trouble for a lack of impulse control. It was 79 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: really when I went through puberty that so much in 80 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: my life started to change. And I don't think my 81 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: parents knew what to do with that. But even after 82 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: I was diagnosed, I think because of stigma, you know, 83 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: they did not agree with the treatment plan, so I 84 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,159 Speaker 1: just never was treated and it made it really difficult 85 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: for me to learn. I knew that I was bright, 86 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: but I was also being told at the same time 87 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: that I was sort of a failure. Or a disappointment, 88 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: or that I didn't have the capacity to compete with 89 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: my peers. And I barely made it through high school. 90 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: Thank god for the economics teacher who passed me, because 91 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: otherwise I would not have I didn't even get a 92 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: cap and gown because I didn't think I was going 93 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: to graduate. How did I get into college? I ended 94 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 1: up going to community college for a year, and I 95 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: think my brain started to solidify at that point. You know, 96 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: I started to understand the workarounds that I needed to 97 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: do in order to succeed in this system that was 98 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: not set up for me. And I can remember when 99 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: I was basically failing out of high school. You know, 100 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: my dad came to me and said, why why don't 101 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: you become an airline attendant? And that's certainly nothing wrong. 102 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: I mean, that sounds like a very glamorous life. Honestly 103 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 1: to me, I might have I might wish I had 104 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: become an airline attendant in retrospect, but I just felt 105 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: like they were saying to me that I couldn't go 106 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: to college, that I couldn't do it. And my personality 107 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: is such that no matter how hard it was to 108 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: get through school, I was going to figure that out. 109 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: My parents had such low expectations for me, and I 110 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: was so stubborn and determined that I wanted to go 111 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: to college. No one went to college on my mother's 112 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: side of the family, that was a woman. I come 113 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: from a very very impoverished family on my maternal side, 114 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: coal miners in western Kentucky, who many of them didn't 115 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: even go to high school, and my mom did not 116 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: go to college. And so I got all a's that 117 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,799 Speaker 1: first year in community college, much to my parents' surprise, 118 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: and about a year later, I transferred to the University 119 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: of Missouri. 120 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 3: Despite her parents' low expectations and her struggles with ADHD. 121 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 3: Shannon grew up an avid reader. 122 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: As an only child. That was sort of my lifeline 123 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: was to Anna the Green Gables or you know, Nancy 124 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: Drew or eventually, as I got into high school Watergate. 125 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: I became obsessed with Watergate. I have no idea why 126 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: there is not a Watergate book that has been written 127 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: that I have not read, and that really inspired inside 128 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: of me a love for journalism. And so when I 129 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: decided to transfer from community to college to college college, 130 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,559 Speaker 1: I decided to go to the best state journalism school 131 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:04,040 Speaker 1: in the country. 132 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 4: So it ended up working as a public affairs officer 133 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 4: for the Missouri state government. How did that come about. 134 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: Well, it is not a surprise that I did struggle 135 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: to get through college as well, again because of this 136 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: untreated ADHD, and I wasn't even able to major in journalism. 137 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: I had to major in sociology because I couldn't get 138 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: into the j school ultimately, but I still loved journalism 139 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: and I still loved everything that was a part of 140 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: that world. And so when I graduated, I was writing 141 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: for a local newspaper. I was selling ads for a 142 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: local newspaper in Columbia, Missouri, and there was a you know, 143 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: back then, we looked in the newspaper for job ads, 144 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: and there was an ad that said that Governor Carnahan's administration, 145 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: a democratic administration, was hiring for a speech writer. That 146 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: sounded very glamorous to me and like something I could do. 147 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: And so I applied, and I was one of over 148 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:55,679 Speaker 1: one hundred applicants, and I made it through the process 149 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,679 Speaker 1: and I was offered the job. I made a whopping 150 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: nineteen thousand, eight hundred dollars a year, but it was 151 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: a very sought after position. And you know, the lessons 152 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: I learned in that job have served me throughout my 153 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: entire life. 154 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 3: But this was politics in the nineteen nineties, and those 155 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 3: lessons she learned in the halls of the Jefferson City 156 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 3: Capital went beyond policies and press conferences. 157 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: I mean, as a young woman in the state House, 158 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: you were constantly being hit on, regardless of political party. 159 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: I called it spring break for middle aged men, Like 160 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: these men were coming in from all over the state 161 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: of Missouri to gather just for this few months, right 162 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: to make laws allegedly, But what they were really doing 163 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: was partying. I mean, drinking in their offices and in 164 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: the hallways and being feted by lobbyists and making the 165 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: moves on interns like it was debauchery. So that kind 166 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: of also made me think, you know, if these guys 167 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: can do it, anybody can do it. 168 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 4: But did that make you lose your faith in government? 169 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 4: I mean it feels like it would really make me 170 00:08:59,440 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 4: lose my faith. 171 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: It's kind of like seeing the sausage being made, but 172 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: you know, you still enjoy the sausage, Like I thought, 173 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: the lawmaking that was happening in the state House, and 174 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: particularly Governor Carnahan. I mean, it was really heroic the 175 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: things that he was championing in a state like Missouri, 176 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: women's rights, improving education. 177 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 7: I'm very pleased to report to you that under the 178 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 7: budget that I am introducing today, the state is right 179 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 7: on target and fully funding the Outstanding Schools Act, providing 180 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 7: schools the resources they need to give our children a 181 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 7: quality education. And whatever decisions we make, they will live 182 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 7: with the consequences for years to come. Let us resolve 183 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 7: to work together to put the small on the unimportant 184 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 7: things aside, focus on the common goal to leave Missouri 185 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,439 Speaker 7: an even better place for our children to live than 186 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,960 Speaker 7: it was for ourselves. Thank you. 187 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: Even sensible gun reform and so I didn't dissuade me 188 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: from being interested in politics, but it made me think 189 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: that the people who were politicians could be of a 190 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: higher caliber. 191 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 3: Still, young Shannon soaked it all in, but was still 192 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 3: unaware that politics was it for her, completely unaware that 193 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 3: her time in the governor's office would later give her 194 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 3: the skills that would help or lead the nation's fight 195 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 3: against gun violence. 196 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 1: I was twenty three years old. I'm not sure that 197 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: I had a lot of strong opinions or even fully 198 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: formed political notions. At that point, I was more watching 199 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: and learning from the sidelines, and not just learning how 200 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: to tell story, but understanding how the process worked. 201 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 3: Still not sold on politics, Shannon made her first pivot 202 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 3: from public service to corporate America. 203 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 4: Just walk us through a little bit more. When you 204 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 4: left the public sector and you went into the private sector, 205 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 4: I mean you rose quickly, like you were a star. 206 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 5: Yeah. 207 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: It was interesting how my ADHD quickly became a superpower 208 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: of concentration. And not long after I left the State House, 209 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: I did a couple of other quasi governmental jobs, but 210 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: I ended up at Fleischmann Hillard, the public relations agency, 211 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: and they had a really strong arm of that public 212 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: relations firm in Kansas City, mostly focused on agriculture, but 213 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: Hallmark was a client some of the local headquarters in 214 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 1: Kansas City. And it's really where I cut my teeth 215 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: on crisis management. So there would be a chemical spill 216 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night and I would get 217 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: woken up and I would have to get on a 218 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 1: plane and go out and understand what happened. And how 219 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: do you message this to community members? How do you 220 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: explain to them, we understand this is a crisis, we care, 221 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: we're working to fix it, and that became my job. 222 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: And I wasn't even thirty years old yet, but I 223 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: did have a gift, I think in part because of 224 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: my work at the state House. But I knew how 225 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: to tell a story effectively. I knew how to message, 226 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 1: and I knew how to help clients in part because 227 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: of holding the hands of state lawmakers through any kind 228 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: of journey. You know that they were on because of 229 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,680 Speaker 1: their brand or their business or whatever was unfolding, and 230 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: that experience certainly is something that is valuable I think 231 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: in the corporate world. 232 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,959 Speaker 4: I also feel like for people that work in crisis 233 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 4: are like a special breed, like you're either built to 234 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 4: run towards the crisis and have a very clear brain, 235 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 4: or it's just overwhelming. 236 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,719 Speaker 1: I agree, And I don't know that you would think 237 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: that someone who almost failed out of high school and 238 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: college would have that kind of brain. But yet, what 239 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,959 Speaker 1: I found is that my ADHD helps me to focus 240 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: so specifically when one thing unfolds, which I'm sure we'll 241 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: talk more about when it pertains to gun violence. But 242 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: I saw this play out over and over again, and 243 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: this was just as you know, the Internet was coming 244 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: into play where I was able to track an issue, 245 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: find the information about it, look at the news coverage, 246 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: synthesize all of it, and spit back out a strategic 247 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: plan and cohesive messaging. And it's just something that my 248 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: brain is wired to do. 249 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 3: When we come back, we dive into how Shannon's personal 250 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 3: life played a role in her early career and beyond. 251 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 3: Shannon's career was continuing to grow and grow, but so 252 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,200 Speaker 3: was her family. She married her high school sweetheart fresh 253 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:30,719 Speaker 3: out of college. 254 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: I was very young. My parents were going through divorce. 255 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: As I said, I was an only child, and I 256 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: kind of felt like my family was falling apart, and 257 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: I think I was looking for another family, to create 258 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: another family. And so I married and found out I 259 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: was pregnant three months later, had a baby again. I 260 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,439 Speaker 1: got pregnant three months after that. So by the time 261 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: I was twenty nine years old, I had three children, 262 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: which is not something that really happens even with women 263 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: in my generation. And and my main focus really in 264 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: my twenties and thirties was being able to support my family. 265 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: And it was really sort of a blur the fact 266 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: that I was having children, that I was working full 267 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: time that I was married. I think all the fun 268 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: most people have in their twenty thirties in thirties, I'm 269 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: having now in my fifties. But my focus in those 270 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: days was really just how do I keep succeeding so 271 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: that I can't support my family? 272 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 4: And you weren't a job that I'm imagining had kind 273 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 4: of unpredictable hours and unpredictable focus, Like if a crisis 274 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 4: came up, you would have to drop we know, wherever 275 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 4: you were with the family and run towards it. How 276 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 4: did you manage that? 277 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I was really the person who was mainly 278 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: supporting our family, and so my ex husband, my ex husband, 279 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: now he had a job, but he was able to 280 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: be home most of the time with the kids, and 281 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: that was also, I think a little bit unheard of 282 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: back then. So he started out making sure that his job, 283 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: because I was paid more, that his job was more 284 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: conducive to childcare and staying home on paternity leave and 285 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: picking kids up from school, et cetera. 286 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 4: So you were doing incredibly well in your career, your 287 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 4: kids are growing. In two thousand and eight, you were 288 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 4: named to pr Week's forty under forty list and in 289 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 4: the same year you decided to leave to stay home 290 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 4: with your kids. So tell us more about that decision. 291 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 4: And I mean, what was that juxtavision? Like, you know, 292 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 4: you're the top of your field and you say, you 293 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 4: know what, it's not for me right now. 294 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: It's sort of a pattern in my life where I 295 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 1: always try to go out on top, but I ended 296 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: up divorcing in my early thirties. When you get married 297 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: at twenty three, you don't really marry the person you 298 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: would probably marry in your thirties, which is why I've 299 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: encouraged all my kids to wait until they're thirty to 300 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: get married. We have a wonderful relationship. I think Gwyneth 301 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: Paltrow would call it conscious uncoupling. You know, we've been 302 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: able to parent our kids together for the last couple 303 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: of decades very well. But we just realized at a 304 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: certain point that we were not going to have the 305 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: marriage that either of us wanted. And so after we divorced, 306 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: I ended up meeting my now husband and remarrying. And 307 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: he had two older children in high school and college, 308 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: and I had children in elementary and middle school, so 309 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: it was a very complex dynamic. You know, we wanted 310 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: to make sure that our family felt like a family. 311 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: We wanted our kids to come together, and I just 312 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 1: knew there was no way that I could keep working 313 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: full time and do that, and it seemed like a 314 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: good time to take a break, and so I just 315 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: decided I would step back from the day to day, 316 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: always imagining that it would be about a five year 317 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: break and that I would certainly go back into the 318 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: workforce full time. 319 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 3: What I love about Shannon's story is how she speaks 320 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 3: openly and honestly about putting her personal life and her 321 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 3: family first. When I made the decision to leave my 322 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 3: career in politics to be more present with my family, 323 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 3: I felt a sense of shame around it, as if 324 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 3: that reason wasn't good enough, But Shannon was steadfast in 325 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 3: trusting herself and her decisions. 326 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 1: I was much more concerned about wanting to make sure 327 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: that my kids had someone home when they came home 328 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,920 Speaker 1: from school, that I was helping them through the divorce 329 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: and remarriage, that I was getting to know my husband's kids, 330 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,680 Speaker 1: and also that I was spending time with my new husband. 331 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: You know, we had both been married before, and we 332 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that the same things that got 333 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: in the way of our first marriages didn't get in 334 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 1: the way of our second marriage. So that was really 335 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: my priority. And my husband was working full time. I 336 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: had a little bit of a luxury to say, Okay, 337 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: I can put this on the back burner and go 338 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: back when I'm ready, but always believing that because of 339 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: my personality, because of the career I had created, I 340 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: would go back. 341 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 3: Talk to us about the moment it clicked for you 342 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 3: to take action again against gun violence. Had it been 343 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 3: about five years for you at that point. 344 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: I had been home almost exactly five years, and in fact, 345 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: I had started looking at jobs. I had started sending 346 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: out my resume, and it was a very cold day 347 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: in Indiana, December fourteenth, twenty twelve. I had just dumped 348 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: like five huge baskets of laundry out on the bed 349 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,159 Speaker 1: in my primary bedroom. As you can imagine, like laundry 350 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: is a full time job when you have five kids, 351 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: and I was just I was going to have CNN 352 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: on the background while I fulded close and suddenly there 353 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: was this breaking news chirn that there was an active 354 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: shooter inside in elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. I had 355 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: never heard of Newtown, Connecticut. But I knew based on 356 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: the footage I was seeing of people in the parking 357 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: lot and families crying, and these reporters who were already 358 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:53,639 Speaker 1: on the scene, that this was horrific. 359 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,160 Speaker 5: Any hooks cool, I think there's somebody shooting in here, 360 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 5: a New Hook school. 361 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 4: Okay, what makes you think that? 362 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,160 Speaker 5: Because somebody's got I thought a glimpse of somebody they're 363 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 5: running down. 364 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 2: If she thinks that so much? 365 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,199 Speaker 8: The Mental Report, I'm Rebecca Jarvis with the latest on 366 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 8: the deadly shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, 367 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 8: the Sandy Hook School, and it is turning out to 368 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 8: be worse than anyone could have imagined. 369 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 9: One fifteen asked everybody to sit down, and they said 370 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 9: that it was a tragic day in Newtown today and 371 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 9: twenty children were killed. 372 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 3: Tell me little girl was gone. 373 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: There was so much panic and confusion when that announcement 374 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: was whatever was about to unfold was going to sear 375 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: the psyche of Americans. So I'm sure, like so many 376 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: people listening, you know, I just kind of sat down 377 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: where I was that day and I just watched this 378 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: tragedy unfold for hours and hours and hours and I 379 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,879 Speaker 1: was inconsolable. It's still unfathomable, even though it shouldn't because 380 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: there have been so many mascul shootings since. But you 381 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,120 Speaker 1: know that twenty children and six educators were slaughtered inside 382 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: in American elementary school in seconds. Because this, you could 383 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: call him a man, but he's really he was barely 384 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: a man who had easy access to a weapon of war. 385 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: I went to bed that night, I woke up the 386 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: next morning, and I'm not even sure I can explain 387 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: to you the rage I felt, which is sort of 388 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: a common denominator in my life, Like my go to 389 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: emotion is anger pretty much for anything good or bad. 390 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: And I was so angry that I didn't really know 391 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: what to do with it. I had to channel it, 392 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: and I thought, okay, I'll join something like Mother's against 393 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: drunk driving, but for gun safety, that's got to exist. 394 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 1: Mad was so influential to me as a teen in 395 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,920 Speaker 1: the eighties growing up. You know, they used to park 396 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: the cars, the crumpled cars full of victims block still 397 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: like in front of your high school, to say like 398 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: this could happen to you if you drink and drive, 399 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,640 Speaker 1: which just was like very impactful, and I thought, there's 400 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 1: got to be a group of moms who are doing 401 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: this for gun safety. You know, I'm a mom of five. 402 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: That's how this issue speaks to me. It was in 403 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: an elementary school. I've got kids in an elementary school. 404 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: So I went in my kitchen and I looked for 405 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 1: this organization, and I could not find anything like it. 406 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: I found some think tanks, mostly run by men. I 407 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: found some one off city and state organizations mostly run 408 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: by men. Like I wanted to be part of a 409 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: badass army of women like I had seen when I 410 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: was growing up in Rochester, New York, who I think 411 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: are the special sauce of forcing change in this country. 412 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: I had seventy five Facebook friends. I was not exactly 413 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: a social media phenomenon, and I just thought I know 414 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: how to start a Facebook page. I'd actually just recently 415 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: learned how to start a new Facebook page for like 416 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: a business or a brand. So I created it in 417 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: my kitchen and I called it one Million Moms for 418 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: Gun Control. And it was like lightning in a bottle. 419 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: The direct messages, the texts, the emails, the calls. Like 420 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: I didn't think I'd be a public figure. All my 421 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,720 Speaker 1: information was out there to contact me, and so what 422 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,919 Speaker 1: I thought was an online conversation very quickly became an 423 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: offline organization. 424 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 10: Market market moms demand action, not politicians. It started as 425 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 10: a Facebook group of concerned moms and has transformed into 426 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 10: a grassroots campaign with a presence. 427 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 4: So how did you decide what the steps were or 428 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 4: the information was that you were going to be providing 429 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 4: to all of these people who were joining your one 430 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 4: million moms group. 431 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: I had absolutely no plan, to be clear. I just 432 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: was so angry that I felt I had to act. 433 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: But there were so many other women who felt the 434 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: exact same way that day. You know, if you talk 435 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: to people, they walked out of their jobs the day 436 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: of the sany Hook School shooting because they knew they 437 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 1: had to be doing more on this issue, or they 438 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: felt an urgency to be with their kids. It kind 439 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: of made anything else you were thinking about feel insignificant 440 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 1: because of that. So many women that day in the 441 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 1: days after came to me and said, I want to 442 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: do this too, I want to do it where I live. 443 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: Let me help you. The skill set I brought to 444 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: the table with storytelling and communications and messaging, but I 445 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: needed web developers and I needed strategists, and I needed organizers, 446 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: and I needed litigators and trademark lawyers like you name it. 447 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 1: These women came and they brought their skills to me 448 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,880 Speaker 1: and said, I want to help you in any way 449 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: I can. So it was really this community effort to 450 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: create our strategy and our plan that I would say, 451 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: you know, started to solidify in the days and the 452 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: weeks that winter. I mean, we showed up in mass 453 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,159 Speaker 1: all over the country on January twenty sixth at marches 454 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,679 Speaker 1: and rallies, and I kind of thought, Oh, this is 455 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: what we do. We're going to show up. But legislative 456 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,040 Speaker 1: sessions started just two months after the Sandyek school shooting, 457 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: and then it became apparent, oh no, we actually need 458 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: to show up in state houses where the gun extremists 459 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: have been writing all the policies that are resulting in 460 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: these mas school shootings. So it all happened very very quickly, 461 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: but only because of this huge amount of support that 462 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,679 Speaker 1: I had from complete strangers all over the country. 463 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 3: When we come back, Shannon talks about early lessons Moms 464 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 3: Demand Action learned after losing the vote on universal background 465 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 3: checks just a few months after founding, just months after 466 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 3: the Sandy Hook shooting, Congress was poised to vote on 467 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 3: a universal background check bill. It was a bill that 468 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 3: I actually worked on in my pre pivot days, and 469 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:53,360 Speaker 3: so we. 470 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: Put a lot of our time and attention towards supporting 471 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: the passage of this bill. I can remember going to 472 00:24:58,240 --> 00:24:59,919 Speaker 1: the White House, I can remember standing behind the pres 473 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: during press conferences. We thought for sure that this was 474 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: going to pass. Right after twenty six people are killed 475 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: in an elementary school, like, Congress isn't gonna act. Of course, 476 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:12,159 Speaker 1: that's not going to happen. They're going to do the 477 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: right thing. It may sound like it's close, but surely 478 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 1: Congress will pass this legislation. And I was in the 479 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,120 Speaker 1: Senate gallery when it failed by a handful of votes 480 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: in the Senate that March, including some Democratic senators who 481 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: voted against it. 482 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,640 Speaker 11: The order of the Senate the vote on this vote. 483 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 11: The a'sr fifty four. The na's are forty six. Under 484 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,159 Speaker 11: the previous order requiring sixty votes to the adoption of 485 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 11: this amendment. The amendment is not agreed to. 486 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 12: My part is A deal to expand background checks was 487 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 12: defeated just moments ago with bi partisan opposition. It was 488 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 12: one in a series of votes, all amendments to a 489 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 12: larger piece of legislation that is now unlikely to end 490 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 12: up on President Obama's desk anytime soon, with more from 491 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 12: this that we're doing now. 492 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: And then I can remember going over to Starbucks, the 493 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: Starbucks in DC near Congress and thinking to myself, like, oh, 494 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 1: we just had a huge failure. If we can't do this, 495 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 1: maybe we can't do anything. Maybe the country isn't ready 496 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: for this to happen, and are we wasting our time? 497 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,199 Speaker 1: And I was getting ready to write a statement and 498 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: I didn't know what that statement should say in response 499 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: to this bill failing. And at the same time, I 500 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: was getting all these texts and these dm from volunteers 501 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: across the country who were saying, it's okay, my governor 502 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: wants to pass gun safety legislation or my lawmakers want 503 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: to act in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. And then 504 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: at the same time, I was getting messages from volunteers 505 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: that were saying, my governor, my lawmakers actually want to 506 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 1: loosen our laws. So that's why it's even more important 507 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: than we stick around. So that's how we decided to 508 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: keep going, which actually became our mantra as an organization, 509 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 1: and many of our volunteers have had that tattoo on them, 510 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: this idea that we have to loose forward, that we 511 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:05,680 Speaker 1: are going to have a lot of losses. And one 512 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,879 Speaker 1: of the things that loss taught us was if we 513 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 1: could peel Democrats away on this issue, we would eventually win. 514 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: Because what happened was the NRA gave A ratings to 515 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,640 Speaker 1: all the lawmakers who voted against that background check bill, 516 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,359 Speaker 1: and these Democrats who voted with them to protect their 517 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: A rating learned a really important lesson that next election cycle, 518 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: which is with friends like the NRA, who needs enemies. 519 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,199 Speaker 1: The na went in and invested millions of dollars in 520 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: their competitors, their Republican competitors. Not a single one of 521 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,639 Speaker 1: the Democratic senators who voted against that bill, which was 522 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: called the Mansion Toomy Bill, still has their seat. So 523 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: what Democrats realized was we can vote with our constituents, 524 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,199 Speaker 1: We can vote our conscience and still keep our jobs 525 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: because we have this army of women in red shirts 526 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: who will support us. 527 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 4: Around that same time you started to practice yoga and Buddhism. 528 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 4: Around the same time of that founding was that can 529 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,159 Speaker 4: you explain what your headspace was that all of this 530 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 4: change is happening for you so quickly, and how you 531 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 4: made these decisions, like how they interacted with one another. 532 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: There was so much change in my life. I think 533 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: I was just forty one years old when the Santay 534 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: Hook School shooting happened, and as you said, I had 535 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: recently practiced started practicing Buddhism. I was training to become 536 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,159 Speaker 1: a yoga teacher, like I was living sort of this 537 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:31,159 Speaker 1: very zen, stereotypical Midwestern white woman life. And it's a 538 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: little bit cliched, but it was also incredibly important to 539 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:39,080 Speaker 1: who I became as a leader because all of the 540 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: tenets of Buddhism, like the eightfold path and just right 541 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: speech and right action. It helped me, I think to 542 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: maybe the overarching thing here is that it helped me 543 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: keep my ego in check and to realize that this organization, 544 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: this work was not about me. It was not even 545 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: about my leadership. It was out the volunteers and the 546 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: survivors who came into this space. It's the same thing 547 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 1: that helped keep me kind and compassionate online. It's the 548 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: same thing that helped me realize, you know, our message 549 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: has to be broadly appealing, that we have to be 550 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: emboldening and empowering women. And so I think the two 551 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: things were incredibly important to one another. And I kind 552 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: of look back and see my leadership of Mom's to 553 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: Man action as part of my practice right to follow 554 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: that eightfold path that Buddhism lays out for me. 555 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 4: I mean, as someone who's been you know, like in 556 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 4: the weeds on this issue for a decade, like what 557 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 4: is realistic? Like should what can we actually hope for? 558 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: Well, I think it's important to remember that we actually 559 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: have accomplished so much right. We've passed over five hundred 560 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: good gun laws, everything from background checks to red flag laws, 561 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 1: to disarming domestic abusers to secure storage requirements. We've also 562 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: stopped the Enemies Agenda ninety percent of the time every 563 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: year for the last decade. That's preventing teachers from being armed, 564 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: allowing guns inside our schools. But also we've had a 565 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 1: seismic shift in American politics on this issue. As I mentioned, 566 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: a quarterball Democrats in Congress had an A rating from 567 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: the NRA when I started doing this work. Today not 568 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: one does, and in fact, fifteen Republicans voted for the 569 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: bipartisan Saber Communities Act that passed last summer. It was 570 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: the first federal legislation on gun safety and a generation 571 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 1: to be signed into law by a president. So all 572 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: of these things are unbelievable that they've happened in under 573 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 1: a decade. You don't see that on many political issues. 574 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: And it's also how these issues play out. You know, 575 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: the idea that you're going to have wholesale, significant change 576 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: overnight is not realistic. I think incrementalism gets a dirty 577 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: is seen as a dirty word sometimes, but it's what 578 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 1: leads to revolutions. If you learn how to play the 579 00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 1: long game, and you show up over and over again, 580 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: you will evenge will he win? And there's certainly a 581 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 1: lot more that has to be done on this issue 582 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: going forward at a state level, at a federal level. 583 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: But I think the fact that we've built this foundation 584 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: means that when we elect a majority of gun sense advocates, 585 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: we can have pretty quick change. I'll give you an example. 586 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: I mean in Virginia, which was a very red state 587 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: until it flipped in twenty nineteen, we elected a gun 588 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: sense trifecta. We've passed over a dozen good gun laws 589 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,720 Speaker 1: in that state, and even though there's a Republican governor now, 590 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: none of that progress has been rolled back because it's 591 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: what the people want and they're holding their lawmakers accountable. 592 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: And we've elected now gun sense trifectas in places like 593 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: Massachusetts and Michigan and Minnesota, and those are the places 594 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 1: where we are passing strong gun laws. So we have 595 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: to keep building the foundation and electing the lawmakers who 596 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,040 Speaker 1: will do what citizens want. 597 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 3: Shannon truly sees the issue as the multifaceted issue. It 598 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 3: is something she says she learned in part from Congresswoman 599 00:31:58,280 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 3: Lucy Macbeth. 600 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: Introduced to Lucy Macbeth in the spring of twenty thirteen, 601 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,680 Speaker 1: her son, Jordan Davis, a black teen, was shot and 602 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: killed in a Florida gas station by a white man 603 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: who thought Jordan's music was too loud. And that happened 604 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: just weeks before the San Hook school shooting, which I 605 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 1: don't think I even heard about. And when I was 606 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 1: connected to Lucy, I just realized that she was such 607 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: a light and was so important to this movement, and 608 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: I remember saying to her like, can you be a spokesperson? 609 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: Which you know, this was just after starting mom'ster Man Action. 610 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: I didn't have any money to give her. I didn't 611 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,240 Speaker 1: have any other spokespeople. I didn't even know what that meant, 612 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: but she said yes. And really, the whole reason our 613 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,120 Speaker 1: Florida chapter started was to support Lucy during the two 614 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 1: trials of her son's murderer. The first one was a mistrial, 615 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: and then Lucy became a colleague. We hired her to 616 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: work on this issue, particularly as it pertained to religious communities, 617 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 1: and then she eventually decided to run for office. But 618 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: the role that Lucy has played in my life and 619 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 1: in the development of Mom's Manact that was so important 620 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: was that she was the person who came to me 621 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 1: and said, you can't just care about school shootings. You 622 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: can't just care about mass shootings. You know, I'm so 623 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,360 Speaker 1: grateful to have this opportunity to speak about my cause 624 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: and my son, but when I do that, it's mostly 625 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: to white women. And if we don't diversify our volunteer 626 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,880 Speaker 1: base and our own internal leadership, we will not succeed, 627 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: like we will not last into perpetuity. And really made 628 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,720 Speaker 1: it her mission to help me do that with Mom's 629 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: me in Action, which I think we've been successful doing. 630 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 6: A Democratic Congresswoman Lucy Macbeth took her gut renting tragedy, 631 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,479 Speaker 6: the murder of her son Jordan, and made it her 632 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 6: mission to prevent other mothers from enduring the same agony. 633 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 9: Here, everything I. 634 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:47,400 Speaker 5: Had done to protect him, it wasn't good enough. She 635 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 5: didn't matter because he was a young plat maile and 636 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 5: was simply because of the color of biscuit. 637 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,080 Speaker 6: She redirected her pain into purpose became active in the 638 00:33:58,120 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 6: gun control group Mom's Demand. 639 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 5: I started speaking out about Jordan's tragedy. Any person that 640 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 5: would allow me to speak or tell my story, I 641 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 5: That's what I did. But this isn't an issue that's 642 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 5: just facing black mothers, although it happens to women who 643 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,279 Speaker 5: look like me far too often. This is an American 644 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:25,240 Speaker 5: crisis and a public safety issue. 645 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: School shootings and mass shootings are about one percent of 646 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: the gun violence in this country, and it's what gets 647 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:33,799 Speaker 1: so many of us off the sidelines. And I think 648 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,080 Speaker 1: my role as a white woman has been to say 649 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: to these other white women and also some men, I 650 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:42,960 Speaker 1: understand you're afraid. I understand you want to protect your kids, 651 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,319 Speaker 1: but we have to look at this as the complex 652 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:50,560 Speaker 1: issue that it is, and it deserves holistic solutions. It's 653 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:55,440 Speaker 1: not just an assault weapons ban. It's not hardening schools. 654 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: It's keeping guns out of schools in the first place. 655 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: But it's also background checks. It's also storming domestic abusers. 656 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:05,799 Speaker 1: It's also unlocking dollars for community violence intervention programs. Right, 657 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: gun violence is happening everywhere all the time. One hundred 658 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: and twenty people are shot and killed every day, hundreds 659 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,319 Speaker 1: more are wounded. That's a lot of mass shootings in 660 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:16,960 Speaker 1: one day in America that aren't happening inside schools. So 661 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,400 Speaker 1: I think it's first of all, understanding the issue, understanding 662 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: the data behind the solutions, advocating for more than just 663 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,279 Speaker 1: your own security and your own kids protection, and realizing 664 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,120 Speaker 1: that you have to find a piece of the work 665 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: and take it on. I realize we don't lead single 666 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,000 Speaker 1: issue lives, but I am a single issue voter. If 667 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 1: you don't support gun safety, you're not getting my vote, 668 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:41,399 Speaker 1: and that is how we affect change. 669 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,920 Speaker 4: I live in a Republican congressional district, and over the summer, 670 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,480 Speaker 4: my friends and I started a Mom's Demand chapter. We 671 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 4: started one that we didn't have in our talent and 672 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:52,879 Speaker 4: I would love to take credit for this. I did 673 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,880 Speaker 4: not start it. My friend came to me, is that 674 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 4: I think that we should. I think that we should 675 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:58,479 Speaker 4: do this, And we've been organizing a bunch of moms 676 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,960 Speaker 4: in our schools since, but we're starting from scratch. So 677 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,359 Speaker 4: give us advice, like how should we be thinking about this, 678 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,040 Speaker 4: How should we prioritize our time, Like how do we 679 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,480 Speaker 4: feel like we're making progress enough to keep people engaged? 680 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 4: Because it is going to be a log paddle. I 681 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,640 Speaker 4: think it's first setting the table and explaining that to people. 682 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 4: People get involved in activism, especially young people, which we 683 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,960 Speaker 4: need right We need their desire for significant overnight change 684 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 4: to force politicians. We need their voices, we need the 685 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,840 Speaker 4: way they advocate differently to be at the table. But 686 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:34,760 Speaker 4: at the same time, we need to have a realistic 687 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:38,480 Speaker 4: expectation of what we can accomplish. We aren't going to 688 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 4: have this happen in the next year or two years. 689 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 4: We have to have people understand that what they're doing 690 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,399 Speaker 4: is building a foundation that we can work on. What 691 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,360 Speaker 4: we want is for all lawmakers to be on the 692 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 4: right side of this issue, regardless of political party. So 693 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 4: I think that is this idea of keep going. You 694 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:56,840 Speaker 4: may lose, you're going to learn from those losses and 695 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,800 Speaker 4: win the next time. I think it's understanding the context 696 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,120 Speaker 4: of history and the fact that we are getting Republicans 697 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 4: to vote the right way on this issue, and that 698 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 4: if they don't, we have to hold them accountable. Or 699 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 4: it looks as though there's no accountability for being on 700 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 4: the side of gun extremism. But mostly it's find a 701 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 4: piece of this work that you're passionate about and commit 702 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:18,480 Speaker 4: to it. It can be cultural, like handing out secure 703 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,960 Speaker 4: storage information at a farmer's market. It can be electoral, 704 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:25,920 Speaker 4: like knocking doors during election season. It can be legislative. 705 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 4: Maybe you're going to show up at a gun bill 706 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 4: hearing at the state House. I think it's Alice Walker 707 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,319 Speaker 4: who said activism is the rent I pay to live 708 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:36,840 Speaker 4: on the planet. And if we are concerned about this issue, 709 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,640 Speaker 4: if we are worried not just about our kids' safety, 710 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 4: but the safety of our communities, the safety of our country, 711 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 4: the safety of our democracy, which guns makes vulnerable, then 712 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,879 Speaker 4: we are obligated to keep showing up and to keep 713 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 4: doing the work. 714 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:54,560 Speaker 1: If you're angry, frustrated, and heartbroken. 715 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:57,120 Speaker 2: Let me hear you say a not very poster board. 716 00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, raise if you're sign a little bit. Anna ev 717 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 4: Era carried the sixth letter word. Our mom made it 718 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 4: because she is part of this group and wants to 719 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 4: prevent gun violence. 720 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 3: Their mom, Rebecca mork Is. 721 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:15,400 Speaker 8: The Limanned Action held a gun violence awareness event in 722 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 8: honor of ware Orange. 723 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,480 Speaker 3: This event for Change the Maryland Chapter A Mom's the 724 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,600 Speaker 3: Man Action heading to Annapolis tomorrow pushing for stricter gun laws. 725 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:26,880 Speaker 4: W leming r to do is Jif Morgan, So, what 726 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 4: is one thing in retrospective, like doing the whole retrospective 727 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:33,440 Speaker 4: looking back, what is one thing that at the time 728 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:35,799 Speaker 4: you felt like was a real low point for you 729 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:40,000 Speaker 4: and now you see it as having having really launched 730 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:41,080 Speaker 4: the success that you've had. 731 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,279 Speaker 1: Oh, there's there. I mean, there's so many of those 732 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 1: different inflection points. But I would say, as so many 733 00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:50,279 Speaker 1: women say, the election of Donald Trump. You know, I 734 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:54,839 Speaker 1: really thought that would be the moment that the NA 735 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: came into its power. I don't know if you remember, 736 00:38:57,160 --> 00:38:59,680 Speaker 1: but Donald Trump one of the first things he did 737 00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:02,680 Speaker 1: was in Wayne Lapierre, the CEO of the NRAA, to 738 00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,759 Speaker 1: sit in on one of his roundtables about guns. The 739 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:09,200 Speaker 1: day of the Sandy Hook School shooting commemoration, invited Wayne 740 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:12,960 Speaker 1: Lapierre to the White House Christmas Party, like it looked 741 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,120 Speaker 1: like this was going to be the nre's time to shine, 742 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,480 Speaker 1: and in fact, thanks in large part to the work 743 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: of Mom's Man Action volunteers, the NRA lost political power 744 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:29,440 Speaker 1: and wealth and unbelievable amounts during Donald Trump's administration, in 745 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,680 Speaker 1: part because gun sales went down. No one is afraid 746 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:33,920 Speaker 1: at that moment until COVID that their guns were going 747 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:38,759 Speaker 1: to be taken away, but also because Americans started to 748 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:42,080 Speaker 1: see through the corruption and the lies of the so 749 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:46,279 Speaker 1: called nonprofit So I really thought that that was going 750 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:48,960 Speaker 1: to be the beginning of the end for maybe gun safety, 751 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,360 Speaker 1: but in fact it was for gun lobbyists. 752 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 3: After over a decade at the helm of Moms Demand Action, 753 00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:58,360 Speaker 3: Shannon stepped down as CEO, passing the torch to the 754 00:39:58,400 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 3: next generation. 755 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:04,080 Speaker 1: You know, I never saw the role a founder as infinite. 756 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,000 Speaker 1: I saw it as very finite that my job was 757 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:08,000 Speaker 1: to build a space for people to come together. But 758 00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:10,879 Speaker 1: I knew that it I would eventually leave. I didn't 759 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:12,279 Speaker 1: want to do this my whole life. But also I 760 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 1: didn't think that served the organization, and I can remember 761 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,960 Speaker 1: standing in the Rose Garden when President Biden signed the 762 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,719 Speaker 1: Bipartisan Saber Communities Act into law, thinking, Oh, this is it. 763 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:26,080 Speaker 1: This is the bookend to my activism as the founder 764 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,759 Speaker 1: of Mom's Demand Action, and it was time for me 765 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,200 Speaker 1: to step back. And we had this amazing woman in 766 00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:34,080 Speaker 1: place in our organization who was in charge of movement building, 767 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:37,279 Speaker 1: Angela Farrell Zabala. We hired her from Planned Parenthood a 768 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:40,239 Speaker 1: few years earlier, and I just think it's so key 769 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:42,280 Speaker 1: to the evolution of the organization. You know, I started 770 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,080 Speaker 1: this organization as a white suburban mom who's afraid her 771 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,920 Speaker 1: kids weren't safe in their school. Angela is a black 772 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 1: queer woman, a mom of four in Washington, d C. 773 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:54,800 Speaker 1: Who has seen gun violence very differently in her community. 774 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:59,319 Speaker 1: And I'm incredibly grateful for her service. And I know 775 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,440 Speaker 1: that she will take the organization in a direction that 776 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,560 Speaker 1: I wouldn't necessarily have known to do, and I think 777 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:07,040 Speaker 1: that benefits the organization. 778 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,520 Speaker 4: So for you, let's talk about what's next. Which office 779 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:11,319 Speaker 4: are you going to run for? 780 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:16,279 Speaker 1: I really enjoy helping other women run for office. I'm 781 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:20,399 Speaker 1: on the board of Emerge America where we train and 782 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:25,160 Speaker 1: help women successfully run for office, progressive women all across 783 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:28,720 Speaker 1: the country, and to support my friends who are in Congress, 784 00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: like Lucy McBeth, who is a Mom's man, actual volunteers 785 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:34,160 Speaker 1: now congresswomen in Georgia. So I don't have any imminent 786 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: plans to run for office. I'm actually writing a book 787 00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: right now, which takes up most of my waking hours. 788 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,839 Speaker 1: But I will never not be involved in helping other 789 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:45,440 Speaker 1: women run because what I have seen over and over 790 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,120 Speaker 1: again is that when women are given a seat at 791 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 1: the table, everything changes. Everything the issues that they focus on, 792 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,960 Speaker 1: the lives of the people they serve, even the decorum 793 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,080 Speaker 1: and the dignity with which we make laws changes when 794 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:01,760 Speaker 1: we elect women. 795 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 4: Well, thank you so much Shannon for coming on and 796 00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:07,440 Speaker 4: sharing your story, and I promise that we will not 797 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:10,239 Speaker 4: disappoint you with our local Mom's Demand Action chapter. We 798 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:11,160 Speaker 4: will make you proud. 799 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:13,759 Speaker 1: I promise I'll check in on it. 800 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:18,359 Speaker 5: Ever. 801 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:22,359 Speaker 3: The passionate advocate, Shannon continues to support and encourage women 802 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,920 Speaker 3: through her substack Playing with Fire, which encourages us to 803 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,520 Speaker 3: find the spark inside us. Every week, she shares insights 804 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:32,760 Speaker 3: on what she's gained through her eleven years of activism, leadership, 805 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 3: and women's advocacy. Be sure to subscribe and follow because 806 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,759 Speaker 3: she just might be coming out with a book next year. 807 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,320 Speaker 3: You can also follow her on Twitter, where she is 808 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:46,160 Speaker 3: a self proclaimed keyboard warrior, at Shannon R. Watts or 809 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:48,000 Speaker 3: on Instagram also at Shannon R. 810 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:48,440 Speaker 2: Watts. 811 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,240 Speaker 4: Thanks for listening to this episode of she Pivots. 812 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:55,000 Speaker 13: If you made it this far, you're a true pivoter, 813 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:58,120 Speaker 13: so thanks for being part of this community. I hope 814 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 13: you enjoyed this episode, and if you did leave us 815 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,480 Speaker 13: a rating, please be nice tell your friends about us. 816 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:06,640 Speaker 13: To learn more about our guests, follow us on Instagram 817 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:09,480 Speaker 13: at she Pivots the Podcast, or sign up for our 818 00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,480 Speaker 13: newsletter where you can get exclusive behind the scenes content, 819 00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,440 Speaker 13: or on our website she Pivots the Podcast talk to 820 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 13: You Next Week. 821 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:23,240 Speaker 3: Special thanks to the she Pivots team, Executive producer Emily 822 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:27,640 Speaker 3: eda Velosik, Associate producer and social media connoisseur Hannah Cousins, 823 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:33,080 Speaker 3: Research director Christine Dickinson, Events and logistics coordinator Madeline Sonovak, 824 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:35,720 Speaker 3: and audio editor and mixer Nina Pollock. 825 00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:42,440 Speaker 13: I endorse she Pivots