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8 QUESTIONS FOR
Activist
MARIN
COUNTY
Jen Reidy
In Marin / CURRENTS
1Why did you become involved in the gun violence prevention movement? A year after Sandy Hook, I was
shocked and angry that Congress did not strengthen gun laws
and I began to pay attention. It became clear to me that if we do
nothing, nothing will change. It was an epiphany.
2How did you get started? I was inspired by early Marin Moms Demand Action members Cynthia Pillsbury and
Tia Liddell-Ivery and others. I joined Marin Moms Demand
Action as the communications coordinator and began to
host informational house parties. At first the only people
who came were my family and friends, who felt obligated.
But now I joke that my small house is so packed people sit
in the bathtub.
3Why are house parties effective? At house parties and other info sessions I can make it clear that this
is not about taking people’s guns away. We want to let
hunters and other gun owners know that we support
them and our work is about finding common ground,
about agreeing that we all want to keep guns out of the
hands of convicted criminals, domestic abusers and
people on the no-fly list.
4Have there been lockdowns here in Marin? There have been three gun-related lockdowns in Marin schools
that I know of. It is so sad that children today, including my
own, think of lockdowns at school as totally normal. After the
lockdown at her school my youngest asked me, “Why would
anyone want to shoot a little kid?”
5What has it been like working on this issue here in Marin County? Marin is a great place to
work for gun violence prevention. Ninety-two percent
of Americans want stricter gun regulations and in Marin
people will speak up when politicians are not representing
their concerns.
6What are some steps lawmakers could take right now? Closing background check loopholes. We estimate that between 30 and 40 percent of all gun sales today
do not go through background checks, which really opens
the door for convicted criminals, known domestic violence
abusers and those who are mentally ill.
7Why wear orange? The Wear Orange movement began in Chicago and went national when friends of
Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago student killed
by gunfire, decided to honor her life by wearing orange
— the color hunters wear in the woods to protect
themselves and others.
8How can people get involved? We have about a dozen moms here in Marin volunteering up to 10
hours a week. Join us. Sign up at momsdemand
action.org to receive text alerts and instructions on
how to contact local and national representatives who
are voting on important gun legislation. Or follow our
Marin Moms Demand Action chapter on Facebook to see
what is happening locally. Everyone’s voice matters and
you can make a difference. m
People wielding guns kill an average of 91 Americans every day, and here in Marin,
some of our own youth became part of this statistic in May when one Novato High
School student was shot and killed and another critically injured. Historically, gun
control is a political hot-button issue, and Marin County residents have traditionally
been more aligned with the policies of gun reform groups such as the Brady Campaign.
Although she had never been involved with these organizations, nor very
politically active at all, when tragic news of a massacre at Sandy Hook
Elementary hit the airwaves in 2012, Marin County resident Jen Reidy
took notice. The shooting occurred one town away from where she
grew up, in a place “much like Marin County.” This event set in motion a journey
Reidy never expected. She left her job in high tech, poured her time and energy into
community organizing, and just last summer found herself co-leading 500
orange-shirted people onto the Golden Gate Bridge in protest. As the head of the
Marin chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, she hosts informational
sessions and organizes marches in Sacramento. KIRS TEN JONES NEFF
