Инстаграм Джулианн Мур (Julianne Moore)

Today’s #WomenCrushWednesday is Christine Senteno of Washington, D.C.. Christine is a survivor of gun violence and a volunteer with @MomsDemand in Prince George’s County, Maryland.As a volunteer, Christine co-leads @MomsDemand’s Mi Gente Caucus: a national group of volunteers who focus on bringing the unique needs of the Latinx community to the organization’s efforts to reduce gun violence. The caucus acts as a bridge to reach out to those in the Latinx community affected by gun violence by providing @MomsDemand resources in Spanish and English, while also working to ensure the needs of the Latinx community are addressed in the gun safety movement. As its co-leader, Christine helps provide key feedback for increased translation services, engages Latinx voters on voting for Gun Sense Candidates, and trains other @MomsDemand volunteers on how to do similar work in their chapters.“Communities of color bear the brunt of inaction and the gun lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda,” explains Christine. “Easy access to firearms, mixed with weak gun laws and structural racism, has a direct impact on our community. The Mi Gente Caucus advocates for common-sense gun safety policies that keep guns out of the wrong hands, including those convicted of hate crimes and domestic violence, as well as investing in community intervention programs that work to end cycles of violence and provide a safer future to historically underfunded communities.”Thank you, @sentenodem, for your leadership and to the entire @MomsDemand Mi Gente Caucus for your extraordinary work in this movement. #wcw #LatinxHeritageMonth

#TheRoomNextDoor has won the Golden Lion, the highest prize at the Venice Film Festival.

HOPE #nationaldogday ???? @freundlich96 @gimmeshelteranimalrescue

My #WomenCrushWednesday this week is @skaufman121 of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. After working for thirteen years as a teacher and school administrator, Susie turned her focus toward community organizing and activism and began volunteering with @MomsDemand. Today, she leads their Minnesota chapter and fights for gun safety throughout the state.As a volunteer, Susie helps to elect Gun Sense Candidates, or candidates who have committed to govern with gun safety top of mind. Her work was instrumental during the 2022 elections, in flipping the Minnesota State Senate–creating a gun sense majority in all three chambers of the state government.With this new majority, Susie, along with other partners and volunteers, began advocating for critical gun safety legislation, including closing a dangerous background check loophole, an Extreme Risk law to limit firearm access by individuals in crisis, expanding access to community violence intervention funding, and restricting the use of no knock search warrants. As a result of her efforts, combined with the collective efforts of survivors and gun safety advocates, Minnesota Governor and Vice President Harris’ running mate Tim Walz signed into law a public safety bill addressing every one of those life-saving measures.But Susie’s work didn’t stop there. This year, she led her fellow @MomsDemand volunteers to push for even more common sense gun safety legislation in the state, including a law banning binary triggers—a modification that allows a semi-automatic firearm to fire two rounds for each action of the trigger, doubling the firing capacity. Thanks again to her efforts, that measure also passed the Minnesota legislature and was signed into law by Governor Walz earlier this year.When asked about her tireless advocacy, Susie shares, “I work in this movement because I want my daughters to be safe when they go to school or hang out with their friends. I want them to know I did everything in my power to elect Gun Sense Candidates and to advocate for laws that will help make our country safer.”Thank you, Susie, for making our country safer. To help elect Gun Sense Candidates in your state, click the link in my bio. #wcw

RJ Shannon of Phoenix, Arizona is this week’s #WomenCrushWednesday. A survivor of gun violence and a volunteer leader with @MomsDemand, RJ has worked in gun violence prevention for over three decades.RJ joined the gun safety movement in 1992, compelled to keep her daughter safe. By that time, RJ’s life had already been inundated by gun violence; she had lost friends to shootings, been a victim of armed robbery, witnessed shootouts, experienced police intimidation, and had grown up in a household threatened by domestic violence and guns. “For less traumatized families, the chances of one person shooting another felt frankly non-existent,” RJ says. “But for traumatized families, the threat was always there.”Determined to make a difference, RJ spent years advocating for safer communities and against gun violence in Arizona, including conducting workshops at correctional facilities, schools, and community centers. “My relationship with Arizona has always been somewhat contentious,” RJ admits, “but I’ll stay here for as long as the amazing people who do this work continue to trust me with their knowledge, wisdom and actions.”Now 71-years-old, RJ leads the Phoenix chapter of @MomsDemand, firmly committed to protecting her community from gun violence. “Even though I’m retired,” she shares, “I still get to associate with the very best, most enthusiastic, passionate people who are fearless in their resolve to create a safer world for their children, grandchildren, family members, neighbors, and community members.”Thank you, RJ, for your years of life-saving advocacy. Join RJ in this fight by texting READY to 644-33. #wcw

Thank you President @joebiden for your service and decades of leadership. And for leading the strongest gun safety administration in US history.

My #WomenCrushWednesday this week is Sharline Brown, a gun violence survivor and activist from the Midlands of South Carolina.Sharline is a volunteer with @BeSMARTforKids, a campaign that aims to prevent suicides, school shootings, and unintentional shootings by children and teens by promoting secure firearm storage. Sharline was drawn to this work following the death of her brother, Willie “Will” Henry Manning Jr., who was shot and killed nine years ago yesterday. In her words, “I turned my pain into a purpose and a passion–and that passion is Be SMART.”Sharline joined her local Be SMART program in 2019 and has been integral to its success ever since, promoting secure gun storage all throughout the greater Columbia metropolitan area. In a TV interview, Sharline shared some of her more recent work with the campaign, including a partnership with twenty Midlands-area barber shops to offer free gun locks as well as efforts to recruit more Be SMART volunteers through her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta.Sharline contributes her group’s success to the support of her community. “I would like to share this recognition with my fellow volunteer leaders Merie Mirosavich and Sarah Venn. My team would not be able to carry out our important work without the unwavering support of our volunteers, community leaders, and valued partners. We understand that by joining forces as a community, we can make a significant impact in ensuring the safety of our community through awareness and education.”Thank you, Sharline, for honoring your brother with your action, and thank you to all the #WCWs working to keep our children safe. To watch the full interview, check the link in my bio, and learn more about @BeSMARTforKids by texting SMART to 644-33.

This week’s #WomanCrushWednesday is Alexis Gevanter (@alexis.gevanter) of New York, NY. On October 1, 2017, Alexis was at home with her six-month-old son as news broke of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. As she watched in horror, holding her baby tight, Alexis knew it was time to act.After spending years as a corporate litigator, she became a full-time volunteer with @MomsDemand and is now their New York chapter’s State Leader, having previously served as the Connecticut chapter’s State Leader and Federal Legislative Lead.Last month, Alexis and over 200 other volunteers with @MomsDemand and @StudentsDemand rallied and met with legislative leadership at the State Capitol in Albany to advocate for several life-saving gun safety measures in New York, including bills that would hold the gun industry accountable, require schools to provide secure gun storage information to parents and students, and require that lockdown drills in New York State schools adopt a trauma-informed approach.Reflecting on her pivot to gun safety advocacy, Alexis shares, “It is an honor to work alongside other concerned parents, students, citizens, and especially survivors, who bravely stand up to the gun lobby and advocate tirelessly to make electoral, legislative, and cultural change. If you are like me, and you squeeze your children extra-tight before they head to school each morning, please join us in this fight.”To join Alexis and @MomsDemand, text READY to 644-33. #wcw.