Audrey Nichols has been lobbying for gun violence legislation for years. A survivor of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, she has found activism a way to heal from the trauma she experienced at a young age.
When Nichols arrived at the University of Connecticut, she wanted to continue that work and make gun violence prevention more accessible for students. So, she is growing the UConn chapter of Students Demand Action, a national organization that is committed to ending gun violence.
She started the club last semester and now is working with the organization and other advocacy groups to pass a gun violence prevention bill in Connecticut’s legislative session that would hold gun manufacturers accountable for making easily modifiable pistols.
“It’s nice to be able to advocate for something I believe so strongly in,” Nichols said.
House Bill 5043, if passed, would prohibit the manufacture and sale of convertible pistols, where a part or attachment like a Glock switch could be easily added to the gun, causing an automatic repeating action of the trigger.
“These switches have been found in Hartford, in Bridgeport, New Haven, and they’ve been involved in shootings there,” she said.
While the bill made it out of committee, they still have work to do to get it passed. She said herself, along with other club members, plan to make phone calls and write letters and emails to legislators.
In addition to working on the legislation, Nichols said Students Demand Action meetings are spent making ribbons to bring awareness to gun violence and sending care boxes to survivors. She leads the club as president with her friend and fellow Sandy Hook survivor Jacqueline Hegarty, who serves as vice president.
Nichols remembers the care boxes she received when she was seven.
“It’s nice now that I’ve grown up to be able to maybe provide that support to other kids, other students, other survivors of gun violence,” she said.
There are 15 to 20 members in the club currently, Nichols said, but she is hoping to expand the group as they continue to grow.
She said for students interested in learning more can refer to the organization’s UConntact and email list for weekly newsletters. She emphasized that the club does not condemn firearms, but are an organization rooted in gun violence prevention.
Many club members submitted written testimony for the bill, but Nichols testified at the public hearing at the Capitol Building in Hartford on March 11.
She said her testimony was emotional as she recalled her memories on the day of the shooting. She said that many legislators and others in the room — even those opposed to the bill — approached her after her testimony and commended her speaking out.
“I will never stop talking about how rewarding it is to be able to try and make a difference,” Nichols said. “People get so wrapped up in national politics that sometimes they forget about state and local level politics as well, and those are super important.”
Gun safety advocates and police chiefs testified in support, including the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, who said that they have seen an increase in weapons modified with switches in recent years.
“Law enforcement is concerned that an increase in rounds fired by an individual increases the likelihood that a member of the public or an officer will be struck by one of those rounds,” the association said in testimony.
Several opponents of the bill call the legislation an overreach that would ban sales of popular Glock firearms and other striker-fired pistols of similar design.
“It penalizes law abiding Connecticut permit holders for the actions of criminals who are already breaking federal law,” Tom Burr, outreach team member of the CT Citizen Defense League, said in testimony. “What the state of Connecticut should be doing is enforcing the laws we have against illegal machine gun conversion, rather than banning the standard tool of self-defense for millions of Americans.”
Despite the trauma Nichols faced, she found a passion for politics, government and advocacy for a variety of topics—especially gun violence.
“It has definitely 100% shaped what I want to do in the future,” she said. “It’s really nice when you walk into the Capitol and it feels like where I am meant to be.”