The Future is Still Ours

2026 can be different, if we transform hope into action.

Somehow, it’s the end of December already. This year has felt long and short at the same time. And for many of us, including those in the gun violence prevention movement, it feels heavy in a way that’s difficult to describe.

The last 12 months have been a double-sided conundrum. There is real, hard-won progress to celebrate, progress that will and that has already saved lives. (And which you can read more about here.) And yet, since January 20, 2025, every single day has carried its own pressure. Another shooting, Another headline. Another moment that forces us to absorb another new, unacceptable reality.

The collective weight we carry is real. We feel it in the drop of our stomach when a news notification flashes across our phone. And in the conversations we have or we avoid at the dinner table. And yet, for all of our shared anxiety, the pressure remains the heaviest for Black and Brown communities, who continue to bear the brunt of most of the administration’s sweeping actions.

Still, with all of that, and despite every possible headwind that this year swept in, I am deeply proud of what our team at Brady, and our broader movement, accomplished in 2025.

A Year of Reckoning and Resolve

Brady delivered real victories in 2025 that will shape the fight to end gun violence for years to come. I wrote about some of them here. These wins are not abstract. They are measured in lives protected, harm prevented, and futures preserved.

At the same time, we have all witnessed – up close and completely without mercy – the deadly, heartbreaking toll of political extremism and systemic failure. We have seen exactly what happens when America continues to allow unfettered access to firearms.

This year, extremists dismantled foundational gun laws, undermined essential gun industry oversight, and hollowed out public safety and public health agencies meant to protect us. And when a Democratic state speaker and her husband were brutally assassinated for political motives, the silence from many in power was deafening. It was a chilling reminder of how much violence has now been normalized in our political discourse, and just how dangerous that normalization has become.

And Still, We Rise

Yet alongside these heavy truths we have also seen something else rise. We’ve seen Americans stand up and say: enough.

From the energy of No Kings marches that insisted on safety as a fundamental right, to decisive ballot box victories for common-sense gun safety candidates and a life-saving ballot measure in Maine, courage has been everywhere. Young people in particular are insisting, with an urgency that we must all meet, that the legacy of inaction ends with them. They are done begging leaders to protect their lives only to receive nothing in return.

This fierce demand for change is what grounds my own work in the year ahead. It’s the belief that our future is not predetermined by the gun industry, but by our collective will and the power that lies within each one of us.

A Compass, Not a Resolution

This is the time of year when many of us draft our New Year’s Resolutions. They’re often framed as bans or absolutions: quit coffee, join the gym, swear off carbs. Worthy goals, all of them (and if you’re giving up coffee or bread, I salute your strength, and please send me your tips.)

But I would encourage you to think differently this year. Instead of a resolution, what if we set a compass? Not just what we’re against, but where we’re going. Not only what we’re quitting, but what we are committing to in the new year.

For my part, I’m keeping my coffee and setting some intentions rooted in the future that I’m actively working to build – especially for my two daughters, and by extension, for all of us.

Gun Violence Prevention Compass for 2026

Stop Normalizing Gun Violence

This is not background noise. The crisis we face is not a failure of imagination; it is a failure of political will. The solutions—common-sense laws like universal background checks, secure firearm storage, and extreme risk protection orders—are well-known, wildly popular, and demonstrably effective. We must treat gun violence as the life and death crisis that it is.

Ending the Big Lie

I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it until my final breath: more guns do not make us safer. Full stop. Responsibility and accountability must replace gun industry fear-mongering to drive profits at the cost of human lives. Until we fully reject the gun lobby’s deadly deception, our nation will remain trapped in a repeating cycle of preventable tragedy.

Children Are Not Collateral Damage

Lawmakers must stop treating kids as a line item in the cost of doing business. We must end the trauma of incessant and terrifying active shooter drills that condition an entire generation to fear their own classrooms, and also be trained in how to prevent their own potential murder. It is a complete moral failure that our nation requires elementary school children to be more courageous than the people who were elected to protect them.

Safety is a Promise, Not a Campaign Slogan

Public safety cannot be something that political candidates talk about in October and forget by January. It is a fundamental promise and a basic right. At Brady, we’re holding candidates to a high standard and a clear expectation of decisive action.

Empowering the Next Generation

We must invest in young leaders including those in Team ENOUGH who are already shaping a safer future. They carry the lived experience of gun violence. It’s time leaders stop, listen, and learn – or be voted out. The next generation is already leading the way, it’s time to get on board.

Elevate All Voices for Safety

Responsible gun owners, rural Americans, parents, survivors — people across every political line and background want common-solutions. Gun violence prevention is not a partisan issue. It’s about shared safety, and our commitment to one another.

Prevention and Secure Storage

We prevent gun violence when we stop it at its inception. Congress and the states must robustly fund community violence intervention (CVI) and expand secure storage programs. You can learn more about the latter through our End Family Fire campaign.

The Choice in Front of Us

As we stand on the precipice of a new year, let’s be clear about this:

The future is not written. It is being decided right now by who shows up and who refuses to back down.

My deepest, most enduring intention is simple: an America that is free from gun violence. An America where my daughters, and your children, are safe, free, and equal.

This is not a wish I will ever stop working to make real. And I know that you won’t either.

So my call to you as we enter into 2026 is to stay in the fight. Demand more from those in power. Refuse to normalize what should never be normal. Have conversations with your friends and neighbors about solutions. Invest in the next generation of leaders.

Hope is something that we must practice every single day. If we do that together, the safer, freer America that our children deserve will become inevitable.

So I’ll leave you with a question as we leap into the new year together:

What is the one intention or one goal that you are carrying with you into 2026 that moves us forward?