Arizonans For Gun Safety was founded in 1995 by Arizona resident Geraldine Hills after her brother, Adam Hills, was killed by a man with an AK-47 and a history of mental illness.

Throughout the years, survivors of gun violence have been at the forefront of the organization, many of whom are prominent gun violence prevention advocates in Arizona. For example, State Representative Jennifer Longdon joined and was previously the president of Arizonans For Gun Safety after she was paralyzed due to a random drive-by shooting. Otis and Lory Smith joined after their daughter Shannon was killed by a stray bullet fired into the air. The Organization was critical in passing Shannon’s Law, making it a felony offense to shoot a firearm into the air.

Arizonans For Gun Safety has also filed Amicus Briefs in litigation surrounding reasonable gun restrictions and promoted a Gun Buyback Program, which was later rendered ineffective by the Arizona Legislature’s passing of a statute requiring city or county-sponsored programs to resell (instead of destroying) guns they obtain. Arizonans For Gun Safety has also supported participation in peaceful demonstrations for gun safety through avenues such as becoming the fiscal sponsor of March for Our Lives Arizona.

Maya Zuckerberg took over as President in 2022 and is looking forward to steering Arizonans For Gun Safety in a direction that will create real and lasting change to make Arizona a safer place for residents to live and thrive.