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In Conversation with Shannon Watts

  • Eddy Theater, Chatham University 1 Woodland Road Pittsburgh, PA, 15232 United States (map)

Join us for an important conversation about gun violence and grass roots activism with Chris Potter of WESA moderating our town hall conversation with Shannon Watts. We have moved our event to the Eddy Theater, Chatham University. Please RSVP here as seats are limited. Map of Chatham University https://www.chatham.edu/about/location/directions-map/campus-map.cfm

On the morning of December 14, 2012, Shannon Watts was folding laundry when news broke about a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Outraged, heartbroken, and overwhelmed by a need to act, she discovered there was no gun violence prevention equivalent to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. So, the stay-at-home mother of five founded Moms Demand Action, a grassroots effort that has grown into a national organization with millions of supporters and local chapters in all 50 states. 

Guns outnumber citizens in the US. Our country is home to 82% of gun deaths worldwide. And 38,658 Americans died by gun-related incidents in 2016 alone. FIGHT LIKE A MOTHER: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World (HarperOne; May 28, 2019) by Shannon Watts is the powerful story of how one mother’s cry for action started a national movement to fight some of the richest and most powerful people in America: the gun lobby. Along with her observations and wisdom, Watts shares moving messages of perseverance, courage, and compassion, and outlines the core mantras and principles that Moms Demand Action has used to battle the NRA and the intimidating tactics they employ to prevent gun safety progress. Bringing activism into the everyday, Fight Like a Mother will inspire anyone motivated to work for change and channel their values into action. 

Shannon Watts will donate a majority of the books' proceeds to nonprofits—like Everytown for Gun Safety—that are working to end gun violence.