97percent calls itself as “a bipartisan group of gun owners and non-gun owners,” and describes their purported mission as follows:
We are bringing gun owners directly into the conversation about gun safety — creating spaces where both gun owners and non-gun owners can have an honest, civil discussion about ways to reduce gun-related violence, while respecting the 2nd Amendment.
How bipartisan is this group, and how seriously do they take the concerns of gun owners? For starters, their website has several instances of the phrase “gun safety” but not a single mention of “gun control.” 97percent’s research (archived links) led them to support violent misdemeanor laws, universal gun registry (i.e., universal background checks), red flag confiscations, and permit requirements to purchase any gun. They want these laws implemented federally, and where the Constitution bars the federal government from doing so, they want the federal government to “incentivize” the states to do it. They have expressed concern over Bruen (archived links) because of its removal of corrupt discretion from the hands of government apparatchiks.
It doesn’t end there. 97percent even filed an amicus brief in support of the US Government in the Rahimi case, which is as much a Fifth Amendment Case as it is a Second Amendment case. If you’re still unconvinced that 97percent is really a sock puppet front group for gun control, the Executive Director of that group has made it abundantly clear by moving to Brady (archived links), an outright gun control group:
Today in anti-gun groups: The former executive director of the fudd "gun owners" group @97Percentorg has joined Brady. Interesting! https://t.co/RPWpcCCwBo pic.twitter.com/pqnWsE0K8K
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) October 19, 2023
Brady’s press release (archived links) covers not just Littman, but a whole host of anti-Second Amendment activists:
CAMPAIGN EMPOWERING TV AND FILM INDUSTRY LEADERS TO MODEL RESPONSIBLE GUN USE AND OWNERSHIP ON SCREEN
Washington, D.C., October 19, 2023 – Brady, the national gun violence prevention organization, has announced new leaders on its “Culture and Gun Safety” initiative. Just as Hollywood tackled public health crises like drunk driving and smoking, Brady has ignited a movement among culture leaders and creators to spark positive norm and behavior change and reshape America’s relationship with guns.
Now in its second year, Brady’s “Show Gun Safety” campaign has convened its ambassadors at the White House, consulted on major TV shows, partnered with USC’s Norman Lear Center on gun safety media best practices, amplified the voices of actors and advocates and held working group sessions in Los Angeles.
The newest additions will join Brady’s Vice President of Communications Renee Davidson to bolster these efforts and cultivate new relationships in the entertainment industry.
Christy Callahan, a former motion picture creative executive and TV writer, joins Brady as a senior advisor. Callahan led the creation of Brady’s on-screen gun safety campaign, penning the viral Hollywood Open Letter, which she covered on Good Morning America. A community organizer with deep ties in politics, she has served on Brady’s Southern California Regional Leadership Council for nearly a decade.
Matt Littman joins Brady as a senior advisor. Littman most recently led 97percent, a bipartisan group of gun owners and non-gun owners working to reduce gun deaths. With a strong background in public relations, his clients have included Fortune 500 companies and Academy Award-winning actors. He served as then-Sen. Joe Biden’s chief speechwriter and is a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris reelection campaign.
Jared Milrad, Brady’s director of engagement, is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, entrepreneur, and advocate for inclusion and social impact in entertainment. A finalist for the Sundance Institute’s Episodic Lab, Milrad has created numerous films, pilots, web series, documentaries, and PSAs.
This Fall, the “Show Gun Safety” campaign will host events open to the press at the offices of talent agencies Endeavor and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) with Brady President Kris Brown, industry panelists, and survivors of gun violence.
Why would the Executive Director of a “bipartisan” group that claims to respect the Second Amendment move to an overtly anti-Second Amendment group, joining activists who are working on (more) Hollywood propaganda, partnering with left-wing academics at the University of Southern California, and want to “tackle” guns – not gun homicides – like the campaigns to reduce smoking and drunk driving? Brady President Kris Brown has even come out and praised the gun-free nature of fictional Barbieland (while forgetting about the reality of machete-rich Rwanda). It’s as if the “compromise” and “common ground” was a false front all along.
There was another Brady announcement that slipped under the radar recently, and that’s their hiring of Dr. Joseph V. Sakran.
I am excited to announce that @JosephSakran has been named Chief Medical Officer and Board Chair of @bradybuzz He is the only physician to hold these roles at a major gun violence prevention organization — and our movement will be stronger because of it.https://t.co/3pQXwNHUxL
— Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org (@KrisB_Brown) August 31, 2023
For those who have forgotten or don’t know, Dr. Sakran is another anti-Second Amendment ideologue and activist who has been credibly accused of perpetrating a hoax about how he got a death threat from the pro-Second Amendment side.
The upside to Littman’s move to Brady is that it’s another mask-off moment for the gun control side and their false fronts and feints. The more their one-sided demands for “compromises” using pretenses are exposed, the better.
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