Mercer Islanders get involved with Everytown for Gun Safety

Published 7:30 am Saturday, September 20, 2025

Michele Silbey, the Mercer Island chapter lead for Everytown for Gun Safety, wants to do whatever she can to ensure the community doesn’t experience a gun-violence event.

According to the national organization’s website: “Everytown starts with you, and it starts in your neighborhood. By introducing evidence-based solutions in every town, we can end gun violence.”

The Island 10-member group switched its name from the Everytown-linked Moms Demand Action a few months ago and held a community event to share its initiatives on Sept. 18 at The Crawlspace Gastropub in downtown Mercer Island. Gwen Loosmore formed the local chapter of the national Moms Demand Action nearly two years ago while serving as the legislative advocate for the Washington State PTA.

“I think every small act that people can do to be educated about safe gun storage, to share their experiences with others, to make sure your guns are locked up,” will help the group reach its goal, said Silbey, the mother of two teenagers. She has a long history in various roles with Moms Demand Action.

Silbey added that the group — which has some members who are gun-violence survivors — has an email distribution list of more than 100 people who wish to stay informed about group initiatives. She said the non-partisan organization isn’t focused on taking away guns, it just wants them safely stored.

A list of goals notes that the chapter would like to double the size of its engaged membership, increase awareness of the national Be SMART secure gun storage program and more. On the community front, the group — which meets once a month — sets up information booths at such events as Mercer Island Farmers Market, Summer Celebration and Mercer Island Lunar New Year Celebration and more, and gives away free gunlocks donated by the Mercer Island Police Department.

Member Meg Sykes, who has two children in elementary school, has seen the stories about school shootings and increasing gun violence. She said she thinks about her own children when she hears about those incidents and how she can get involved and try to make a difference.

Nancy Lee, who wrote the book “Reducing Gun Deaths and Injuries – A Social Marketing Approach,” is another member of the group and suggested the name change because it’s a more of a broad moniker and is more widely recognized, she said.

She discussed four S’s of gun safety: safe storage; see something, say something; suicide prevention (she noted that 80% of youth suicides are with one of their family members’ guns); and social equity.

“This is really spread across different populations and demographics and geographics differently. So when we do something, put our resources out there, we should put them proportionately where we have the biggest problems and where we have the biggest solutions,” she said of the latter S.

Lee got involved with the group about a year and a half ago, around the time when her book was released.

“I really thought this would be a group that I could share what I learned writing that book. So I joined the group because I felt like I could contribute to their activities,” she said.

Silbey encourages people to stay involved however they can and be an advocate for gun safety.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, in Washington state: Gun violence is the leading cause of death for teens and the second leading cause of death for children, surpassing car accidents; about 70% of all gun deaths are suicides; and on average, more than 1,000 residents die from gun violence each year.

For information, contact the local group at everytownmercerisland@gmail.com.