Keeping Guns Out Of Unsafe Hands

Welcome to Safer Country!

Since 2020, gunfire has been the leading cause of death for children and teens. Inspired by personal tragedy, I am committed to making meaningful and measurable progress to prevent more lives from being lost and families damaged. — Founder/Executive Director Paul A. Friedman, JD

————————————————————————————
Safer Country is pleased to announce that Board Member Hala Ayala has recently become the National PAC Director of NOW, the National Organization of Women.
—————————————————————————————

Our 2026 Agenda Highlights
1) Promoting common-sense gun laws, such as a new and inventive law, the RIFL Act, proposed in Illinois to hold gun manufacturers accountable;

2) Introducing to states, starting with Virginia, a novel ammunition marking system that uses an indelible chemical taggant making it easier to identify shooters, whether they be the military, police, or other people;

3) Improving and expanding our successful “Prevent A Gun Tragedy-SPEAK UP! campaign in Fairfax County and to the whole state of Virginia;

4) Preventing impulsive suicides by veterans using firearms, which are 90% fatal, with the leadership of a retired Army Colonel; and, critically,

5) Opposing President Donald Trump’s assault on gun violence prevention laws, funding for proven prevention programs, the rule of law, and his support for partisan political violence, including political shootings.

The case against Trump is well-known. He began his first presidential campaign by publicly offering to pay the legal fees of people who would beat up protesters at his rallies. As president, he suggested to his top military leaders might shoot the legs of peaceful protesters outside the White House.

Most egregiously, he illegally sent armed protesters to the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to prevent the counting of votes required by the Constitution to enable the transfer of power as a result of the fairly decided 2020 presidential election which he sill claims he won. During the violent attack on the Capitol, he sent out a Tweet that put his Vice President’s life in jeopardy. As well, despite the pleadings from a variety of legislators directly threatened by the mob and his own family members, it took him three hours and 17 minutes to issue a video message to his supporters to stop their violent assault. Even then, his message expressed love for the rioters. Then, four years later, after claiming he never wanted violence, because he used the phrase “peacefully and patriotically” in his pre-riot speech at the White House, he pardoned all the rioters, some 1600, including hundreds still to be tried. Worst of all, he also released the hundreds of violent ones, many of whom seriously injured 140 or more members of law enforcement.

As if that wasn’t more than enough, this past July, Trump sent another dangerous message about partisan political shootings when he didn’t lower the American flag after the murder of Minnesota Speaker Emerita of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, John. The alleged murderer had a list of Democratic legislators he intended to murder, yet Trump limited his response to one Tweet, which may have been issued by his staff. On the other hand, he and his Vice President, went wild upon the murder of Charlie Kirk. They blamed “left-wing radicals” for the actions of one young man who allegedly murdered him because of the “hate” he expressed.

Lower on his page are a list of some of Trump’s worst anti-gun violence prevention actions. No doubt, we will need to add to it as time goes by.

We hope you’ll stand with us and support Safer Country!

—————————————————————————————
Safer Country is in the CFC, the Combined Federal Campaign. Our number is 52580. This year’s campaign runs from October 1 to December 31 and is available to federal government employees and retirees. The CFC is one of the world’s largest annual workplace charity campaigns. The website is cfcgiving.opm.gov. The CFC Help Center at 888-232-4935 is available to answer any of your questions.

Please choose Safer Country and help us prevent gun tragedies and save lives.

—————————————————————————————

Paul A. Friedman, JD is the Founder, President, and Executive Director of Safer Country, a gun violence prevention 501(c)(3), established in Alexandria, Virginia on February 14, 2019.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Trumbull, Paul is inspired by the memory of his great aunt, Elizabeth Shulkin, who was shot and killed in her hotel room on December 1, 1981, while she was on vacation in Florida. Paul happened to be there at the same time on his own vacation and had lunch with her a few days earlier.

He was living in Washington, DC at the time, having graduated with a B.A. in Politics from Brandeis University earlier in the year. In 1985, Paul graduated with a J.D. from New York Law School. He spent the year between university and law school in Washington, DC working on Capitol Hill as an intern for Rep. Chuck Schumer and for a law firm. After two years living in Norwalk, Connecticut working for the law firm originally founded by his aunt’s brothers, he moved back to D.C., to work on the Hill, in campaigns, and for PAC’s and 501(c)(3)’s.

In 2016, Paul was working as a consultant for political campaigns and nonprofits. It was then that he was hired to consult on behalf of the Virginia Tech Victims (VTV) Family Outreach Foundation. This group was created by the families of the victims of the 2007 mass gun tragedy. It resulted in him becoming the group’s executive director

His primary work for VTV was to urge other states to adopt their own background check systems to enable them to enter people who wouldn’t qualify for the federal system. This stemmed from Virginia’s experience with the Virginia Tech shooter. He also worked with the City of Alexandria and Virginia Tech’s local graduate schools to create a tree grove in Chinquapin Park to honor the victims and survivors of the massacre on April 16, 2007.

Ultimately, he discovered the need to create Safer Country.

Safer Country believes in measurable and meaningful results. It has successfully engaged with numerous sympathetic elected federal and state politicians in Virginia.

—————————————————————————————

In 2021 Safer Country persuaded the Fairfax County, Virginia Board of Supervisors to partner with us to create a Red Flag law public awareness campaign to promote the Emergency Substantial Risk Order law passed in Virginia in 2020.

The project was entitled “Prevent A Gun Tragedy – SPEAK UP!” and was implemented in all 344 Fairfax County Connector buses beginning in September of 2022. Fairfax designed the bus cards – one in English and another in Spanish – and we included a link to a webpage we created to learn about the law and how to contact law enforcement. It also included a QR code for those who prefer using that. It also worked with the government to create a webpage that would track the number of court orders issued every month.

After succeeding there, Safer Country then convinced the Alexandria Transit Company’s DASH bus system to adopt our campaign and substitute Alexandria information for Fairfax County information on the bus cards. Due to its work, the City of Alexandria also created a webpage about the law.

———————————————————————————–

Safer Country is outraged by and condemns political violence, particularly when guns are involved. Earlier this year, on Flag Day, June 4, Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home. The killer also shot another legislator and his wife multiple times, but they thankfully lived. The murderer had a long list of Democratic legislators in his possession.

More recently, on September 10, right-wing political activist and White House advisor, Charlie Kirk, was shot to death during his conversation with students on the campus of Utah Valley University. No matter the political views of those killed or injured, we condemn these acts. Tragically, they are far from the only acts of political violence with guns in our nation.

While taking the temperature down is sought, it isn’t happening.

President Donald Trump specifically stated that he “couldn’t care less” when asked by Fox News how he would make America “come back together.”

Worse, the Trump regime is doing all it can to put guns in the hands of more people in our nation and around the globe. (See more on ha below.)

Given the environment, the passing of common sense gun laws to restrict access to the kind of guns popular in these types of attack is more urgent than ever.

Notably, on guns and gun violence, in an interview setting, the late Charlie Kirk, said, “We should have an honest and clear reductionist view of gun violence but we should not have a Utopian one. You will never live in a society where you have an armed citizenry and you won’t have a single gun death. That is nonsense. That is drivel. But, I think it’s worth it. It’s worth having some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect other god-given rights. That is a prudent deal.”

Safer Country vehemently disagrees with the bolded part of his quote. With approximately over 400 million guns in the hand of an estimated 100 million of our fellow citizens, we do have an armed citizenry. Yet, having some gun deaths every single year must not be accepted for any reason.

Earlier in the interview, Kirk’s recommendations to bring down gun deaths were “more fathers in homes and more guards at schools.” It’s notable that he was killed by a young man whose father was in the home and more guards at the University would not have ensured his protection. Kirk had been advised to use ballistic glass to protect him at his events, but chose not to use it.

Currently, some gun deaths amounts to approximately 45,000 per year. That’s the number we must presume he found acceptable.

The bottom line is that the Second Amendment was never meant to protect to protect an individual right to a gun. It was a collective right. It states that clearly in the text – “being necessary to the security of a free State.” Further, it is not a god-given right. The Amendment was written by men. Self-defense may be inherent in our nature, but guns are not mentioned in the Bible.

Mankind created laws so people could live together peaceably in groups. Restraining access to guns is one way to do that.

———————————————————————————–

According to the Gun Violence Archive, of the 5,151 children and teenagers under 18 who were shot in 2024, 1,403 died. That is more than 70 Sandy Hook mass shootings in one year given that 20 children were murdered that day. We can do far more to protect children and teens!

Stunningly, although gun suicides among all children are on the rise, the Trump regime just shut down the special suicide hot line for LGBTQ+ children as if they aren’t worthy of help in a crisis. We are working to end gun suicides by children, teens, military veterans, and active-duty service personnel.

For the last year where numbers are available, 2023, the CDC reported that 46,728 died from a gunshot. 58%, or 27,300, were classified as suicides. 38%, or 17,927, were classified as homicides. 463 were classified as accidents and another 434 were unable to be classified. The statistics also show that, by and large, the states with stronger gun tragedy prevention laws and that are grouped together in the northeast, have the lowest homicide rates.

Safer Country recognizes that nearly 400 million guns are owned by approximately 85 million people, so our work is not about removing all guns. No group is attempting to do that.

On the other hand, we do support temporarily removing guns from people when sufficient evidence exists to convince a judge that the person is a danger to themselves or others.

Fighting Crime
Every year, approximately 250,000 guns are stolen from gun owners and firearms dealers. That’s why Safer Country is championing a Virginia law to prevent gun thefts from cars, and reduce the number of road rage incidents at the same time. It’s time to get tough on criminals by passing laws to prevent such thefts!

Nationally, we are speaking up against the Trump regime’s protection of criminals with guns, such as its pardoning of armed and violent criminals who attacked, harmed, and killed members of law enforcement on January 6, 2021 and its recent order to DC prosecutors not to charge people illegally carrying rifles and shotguns in public.

We are creating a safer country. Join us!

Safer Country is a 501(c)(3). Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Paul Friedman with actor Bryan Cranston at Yankee Stadium holding our “Prevent A Gun Tragedy” hats

Paul in the community and in the news.

May 4, 2025 Gun Violence Prevention Panel Discussion led by Josh Horowitz of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions (CGVS), which featured VA Del. Marcus Simon, CGVS Advocacy Manager Lori Haas, and Safer Country ED Paul Friedman.

March 25, 2025 article on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto of a bill limiting transfers of guns in domestic violence situations quoting Safer Country ED, Paul Friedman

URGENT: If you feel concerned about your mental health and are in need of special help, call 988, the SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE.

Donate Now!

President Donald J. Trump is a convicted criminal who is undermining the ability of law enforcement to protect people from criminals and right-wing extremists with guns.

On October 12, 2022, AP reported that, “A member of the Oath Keepers who traveled to Washington before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol testified Wednesday about a massive cache of weapons the far-right extremist group stashed in a Virginia hotel room.”

On January 30, 2025, NPR reported that, “On his first day in office, President Donald Trump granted clemency to every person charged or convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, even those convicted of violently assaulting police officers.”

On March 21, 2025, Reuters reported that, “The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement’s ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists, according to sources familiar with the matter.”

On September 1, 2025, the Washington Post reported that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is no longer prosecuting crimes that involve carrying shotguns or rifles under D.C. law. Her office is also working to lessen penalties for past offenses. It has already led to the release of a dangerous person from prison.

Knowledge that gun laws are enforced in Washington, DC kept insurrectionists from bringing weapons to the Capitol on January 6. That’s why they were stored in Virginia and Maryland. That barrier no longer exists.

On November 25, it was reported by Homeland Security Investigations that:

“The number of weapons seized [by our federal government] fell dramatically, declining from nearly 41,400 to fewer than 11,200 — a 73 percent drop.

The data comes from an internal report by Homeland Security Investigations, the agency’s crime-fighting arm. The report offers a comparison of enforcement statistics between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, and the same period during the previous year. That time frame includes roughly four months of the Biden administration and eight months of the Trump administration.”

This is due to Trump’s refocusing the FBI on migrants and his pro-gun agenda. He is helping criminals keep their guns and undermining criminal investigations!

Trump’s 7 Deadliest Gun Sins (Jan-Aug 2025)

1) Trump illegally narrowed the definition of “fugitive from justice” that’s used to determine who’s barred from buying a gun.

Any person “who is a fugitive from justice” is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a gun under federal law. For the purpose of the federal background check system for gun sales, the FBI had long interpreted “fugitive from justice” to include anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant. But less than one month into his Presidency, Trump’s DOJ directed the FBI’s background check operators to narrow the definition. It now only bars an individual with an arrest warrant from buying a gun if they: (1) fled a state; and (2) did so with the purpose of avoiding prosecution; and (3) were subject to imminent criminal prosecution.

The result? More individuals with outstanding arrest warrants, including for dangerous offenses, can now purchase guns.

By requiring that an individual leave a state with the specific intent to avoid prosecution, the new definition would only prevent those with a particular state of mind from buying guns. That’s incredibly difficult to prove.

But Trump’s move isn’t just dangerous, it’s also unlawful. The definition change is a departure from long-standing FBI practice, and it came without notice or opportunity for public input, much less any explanation of how to prove the fugitive’s state of mind—a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

2) He illegally purged 500,000 records from the federal background check system.

Trump didn’t just narrow the definition of “fugitives from justice”: the Administration also removed all existing records in the federal background check system identifying fugitives who would be prohibited from purchasing guns. When Trump took office, the background check system contained entries for nearly 500,000 people who had been flagged as “fugitives from justice.”

They purged all these records, and to date have only restored, about 1,000 entries under the category. The FBI is required, including by its own regulations, to maintain this critically important database. The Administration’s reckless conduct in purging these records constitutes a failure to meet its obligations under federal law.

3) Purging records is not the only way Trump is attempting undermine the federal background check system. His proposed budget would also slash funding that would help states upload necessary records to the background check system by 16 percent. That funding is essential to ensure guns are not sold to people prohibited from owning them, including dangerous criminals.

For example, after receiving background check funding, Connecticut was able to identify and upload more than 50,000 records for individuals who qualified as “fugitives from justice.” Those records were included in the massive data purge, and Trump’s proposed budget cut would make it less likely they will ever be replaced.

4) He froze a rule that would have prohibited more people who are dangerous because they suffer from severe mental illness from buying guns.

Federal law prohibits the sale of a firearm to any person who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or “committed to a mental institution.” Those terms are old and unclear, and as a result, there are gaping loopholes in our gun laws. In 2014, DOJ proposed a rule to fix this problem and prohibit certain people from buying guns, including those “committed to an outpatient mental institution,” “found incompetent to stand trial…in state, local and military courts,” and “found guilty but mentally ill by a court.” This important change would have kept guns out of the hands of those who are dangerous because of serious mental illness, but the gun lobby opposed the change. So instead of finalizing the rule, President Trump stopped it in its tracks.

5) After side-lining the DOJ proposed rule, President Trump went further. Working with Republicans in Congress, and cheered on by the gun lobby, Trump rolled back a rule that allowed the Social Security Administration to provide information to the national background check system about individuals who had been deemed unable to handle their financial affairs and unable to work based on a severe mental illness.

6) He halted a proposal to require gun makers and dealers to sell child safety devices in stores where guns are sold.

Federal law requires gun sellers to certify that “gun storage or safety devices will be available at any place in which firearms are sold.” In 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposed a rule to close two regulatory loopholes that undermined the law.

The first loophole: ATF rules fail to explicitly require gun manufacturers to make safety devices available for purchase, even when selling directly to customers on their premises. The second: ATF rules fail to explicitly require that the safety devices actually be compatible with the guns offered for sale. The gun lobby opposed closing these dangerous loopholes, calling the proposed gun safety rule “burdensome and expensive.” So upon taking office, Trump pulled the plug on these common sense protections.

7) Rolling back child safety protections isn’t the only way Trump is lining the pockets of the gun industry. He’s also proposing to deregulate the export of assault weapons despite wide recognition that this class of weaponry is “the primary means of injury, death, and destruction in civil and military conflicts throughout the world.” But, as experts recognize, this is hardly just an issue affecting people in distant countries: These small arms can “easily fall into hands of those who seek to undermine U.S. national security.”

Text courtesy of Democracy Forward

Safer Country is determined to be creative in tackling these crises and more. We engage the public, partner with other organizations, and work with good elected officials to take action.

Safer Country Is Succeeding!!!

Safer Country’s temporary firearms removal (also known as red flag) laws public awareness campaign has successfully launched in Fairfax County! The above photo features Fairfax County’s Board Chair Jeff McKay, Safer Country’s Founder/Executive Director Paul Friedman, Supervisor and Public Safety Chair Rodney Lusk, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano at a press event on September 20, 2022.

Working together, Fairfax County and Safer Country introduced a bus sign campaign with Safer County’s message, “Prevent A Gun Tragedy – SPEAK UP!”

344 Fairfax County Connector buses had signs in English and Spanish and had a QR code. Listed were the webpage for people to use to get the info they need to prevent a gun tragedy and save lives. We also created a tracking page to see how many orders were issued monthly.

Fairfax County Red Flag Data Dashboard

It’s now a model for other jurisdictions seeking to apply for 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act federal funds, via state agencies, to create, facilitate, and promote temporary firearms removal laws.

BREAKING NEWS: The City of Alexandria’s DASH bus system now features our public awareness campaign signs!

Red Flag Laws Save Lives!

The laws empower people to intervene to prevent a gun tragedy. Studies have shown a minimum of one in ten interventions saves lives. This law has proven effective in preventing suicides, domestic violence gun use, and mass shootings.

It creates the opportunity to get a civil court order to temporarily remove from the subject of the order all their guns and bar that person from possessing any guns. The initial decision by a judge is based upon proof of probable cause that the subject is a danger to themselves or others.

In Virginia, within 14 days, a full hearing is required to determine if that order should be extended. Clear and convincing evidence must be provided at that stage. If the state succeeds in its case, the court may bar access to guns for up to 180 days with the option of an extension upon a new motion.

Details about red flag laws all over the country may be found on our Programs webpage and on Wikipedia’s red flag law page, including a reference to Safer Country’s work.

Learn about the Gun Violence & ERPO (Extreme Risk Protection Order) Study.

This study was commissioned by The Joyce Foundation.

A Red Flag Law and an NFL Player

There have been great success stories, such as former NFL player Richard Sherman, whose life was saved by the use of a red flag law. He’s now a Host on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football show.

Answers to FAQ’s

1) This isn’t a criminal law. It’s a civil court order, so it’s not about proving someone is guilty. It’s about intervening to prevent a gun tragedy.

2) For the court order to be issued, evidence must be presented to a judge. It is insufficient to simply make an assertion that someone is a danger to themselves or others.

3) The first temporary firearms removal law passed in Connecticut in 1999 and was called a risk warrant. It’s now called a risk protection order. In all that time, even though it’s been opposed by the infamous NRA, it has not been found unconstitutional.

Speak Up!

We are also working to encourage jurisdictions without the law to pass it and use our campaign to get people to speak up to people in authority they trust.

Whether or not there’s a law to temporarily firearms removal law in a state or not, getting the word out about a person who has, or intends to get, a gun, and is a danger to themselves or others, may save lives.

Safer Country is committed to empowering the public to keep guns out of unsafe hands.

Safer Country leverages government to effectively implement gun safety laws and works to create, advocate for, and pass needed laws.

As a 501(c)(3), contributions to Safer Country are tax deductible to the maximum extent of the law.

Executive Director Paul A. Friedman

Safer Country · P.O. Box 372 · Alexandria, VA 22313-0372

Guns Became the Leading Cause of Death for American Children and Teens in 2020

Safer Country is especially outraged by a newly-created AR-15 that was made for children under 5. It’s called a JR-15 and is being marketed so children will beg their parents for it. This isn’t satire. It’s real.

Safer Country Solutions

Safer Country supports effective measures to prevent gun tragedies and crimes, such as:

closing the loopholes in our national firearms background check system
supporting state firearms background check systems
restricting the sale and possession of all military-style assault weapons, except for use by law enforcement and the military
limiting high-capacity magazines to enable the interruption of a mass shooting during reloading
requiring serial numbers on every weapon produced to prevent criminals from using “ghost” guns to escape accountability
partnering with the National Black Movie Association on gun tragedy prevention films
passing safer/secure firearms and ammunition storage laws to prevent negligent deaths, particularly to children, and theft, which increases the supply of illegal guns
creating Safer Country Security Grants to protect lawful investigators of right-wing extremists and extremist groups
advocating for government action to monitor and protect the nation from right-wing extremists and extremist groups

MRI studies show brains are not fully developed before the age of 25. Putting weapons in the hands of people under 25 is highly dangerous.

An article by John Sommers-Flanagan, Professor, Counselor Education, University of Montana, and clinical psychologist supports this.

Please join Safer Country’s advocacy and educational efforts by making a tax-deductible donation today!

Together we WILL create a Safer Country.

Our Mission

Safer Country is dedicated to keeping guns out of unsafe hands.

Our Challenge

The NRA and Second Amendment extremists have blocked action at the national, state and local levels for many years. We must also face the reality that the public continues to buy guns in large numbers, endangering itself in the process. As well, it doesn’t know about the laws that could help reduce gun tragedies.

Our Work

Safer Country educates and advocates to the public and policy makers to promote the passage and effective implementation of gun safety laws that can save lives.

Critically, we also push government officials to track the success of these laws and report on them.

Help Safer Country educate and advocate to effectively pass and implement gun safety laws that can protect lives.

Together, we will create a safer country!

Safer Country is a 501(c)(3) educational and advocacy nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the maximum extent of the law.

Donate Now

Contact Information

To contribute by mail or to contact us:

Paul A. Friedman, JD
Founder/President/Executive Director
Safer Country
P.O. Box 372
Alexandria, VA 22313-0372
info@safercountry.org