This Is What Positive Political Change Looks Like

The words “gridlock” and “politicians” have seemingly been grafted together over the last twenty years. This is a rare, bipartisan complaint among voters: “those bums in [insert ‘Washington DC’ or the state capitol of your choice here] can never get anything done.” No matter the topic—revenue, infrastructure, education—people love to grumble about the supposed unyielding stalemate of their elected leaders. Gun violence has particularly frustrated us. As wave after wave of highly publicized mass shootings swept across the nation, Americans responded to political inaction with anger, and then disgust, and finally hopelessness. By the time the Sandy Hook massacre happened, most Americans felt as though their leaders weren’t leading, and with the national Republican Party under the sway of the National Rifle Association, it seemed unlikely that anything would ever change. But if you’re paying attention, you’ll find clear signs of hope all around us. Though we usually recall political change arriving in moments of great, sweeping victory, the truth is that norms and laws change over time, through immense amounts of planning and work. Everyone remembers the day that the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the United States. It was such a dramatic, cathartic moment that it’s easy to forget the years of work volunteered by the millions of people who made that moment possible. It’s happening again. Slowly and steadily, Washington state is transforming the debate on gun responsibility. If you look back over the years since Sandy Hook, you’ll notice a clear and deliberate course of action against gun violence and toward commonsense gun laws that make life in the state better for everyone. Like any great political movement, this story begins with the people. In November of 2014, the voters of Washington state overwhelmingly approved  Initiative 594 , a measure that required background checks for every
+ Read More