Alyssa Milano on Protesting the NRA Convention

From ELLE

Starting May 4th, tens of thousands of people will attend the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas, Texas, complete with exhibits, events, and appearances by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. But in a year marked by the Parkland school shooting-and the students’ subsequent fight for common sense gun laws-it seemed only natural that people would stand up to protest. One of those people is Alyssa Milano, actress, activist, and now member of the NoRA coalition.

The day after the Parkland shooting, Milano emailed her activist, artist, and celebrity friends, looking for something they could do to help. Since then, they’ve worked together onNoRA (No Rifle Association) with the goal of highlighting the NRA’s spending in American politics.

The group, which includes a number of other celebrity and activists members, including Tarana Burke, David Hogg, Minnie Driver, Amy Schumer, and Jimmy Kimmel, first launched in late April, on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. They wrote an open letter to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, which read, "Your time signing checks in our blood is up."

“We call ourselves a culture hack,” Milano told ELLE.com over the phone, days before the convention. “And we’re using art in particular to drive our message because I feel like there is no better conversation instigator than art, and I also feel like art is something that bridges the divide.”

But, she clarifies, they’re not anti-Second Amendment. In fact, they want to stress the difference between the NRA members and the gun lobbyists. Milano says they believe in responsible gun ownership, they just don’t believe in the stronghold the gun lobby has over the country’s political system.

Starting Friday, the @NoRA4USA Twitter account will hold a day of mourning and share the names of everyone under 18 who has lost their lives to gun violence in 2018 with the hashtag #KidsKilledByGuns; they will post a name every five minutes, an effort that Milano says will take 10 hours to complete.

The next day, NoRA will hold two events in conjunction with the convention. On Saturday, there will be a rally with a number of speakers, including Kim Russell, a gun violence survivor and Women’s March executive adviser, Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed at the Parkland shooting, Khary Penebaker, a gun violence survivor and the treasurer of the DNC Black Caucus, and Milano herself. At the end of the protest, those who have lost someone to gun violence will hold up photos of their loved ones. They will also be hosting a ticketed benefit and art installation later that day.

"We really wanted to contrast what was going on at the NRA convention with something that felt poignant and powerful and alive and a celebration of like-minded people that are all fighting for the same mission," Milano said.

But she's not stopping there. She also publicized a petition addressing Mike Pence’s decision to speak at the convention: “We literally watched a president sit in a room telling other politicians that they were afraid of the NRA. And then also watched him sit in a room with gun violence survivors and students and somewhat made promises that, not only did he not keep, but now he’s speaking at the convention with Mike Pence. I mean, this is chaos.”

It might seem like an uphill battle, but just like the #MeToo movement, which Milano also worked to bring to light, she recognizes the need for a shift in culture, a time where everyone must be included. When I ask Milano about the common critique that the gun reform movement has been whitewashed, often excluding the very prevalent issue of gun violence for people of color, she sees a direct parallel to #MeToo.

"I think much like #MeToo, this movement doesn't move forward if we don't amplify the voices of people of color... and acknowledge that their gun violence issues are different. We need those voices. The same thing happened with #MeToo. If white women hadn't come forward and accused Harvey Weinstein of horrible, horrible things, you know, there have been many women of color that have been screaming about this for years. We need to make sure that everyone is represented and part of the conversation because it won't get fixed otherwise. It just won't."

As of Friday, the Twitter bio for NoRA read, “We’re moving culture into a less violent place by counteracting the influence of NRA money in the American political system. And we will win.” It's a blatant declaration of optimism, one that seems significantly hopeful. But Milano says she really does believe it. She thinks change is possible. The mid-terms are coming, young people are hitting voting age, and she believes Americans will be paying close attention to which candidates are allowing the NRA to support their campaign.

"If we can do that and we can educate and empower people to make smart choices at the polls come November, I really think we can do this."

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