Mark Glaze, Influential Gun Control Advocate, Dies at 51

Mark Glaze, who was wide considered a founding fig successful the modern gun-control movement, died connected Oct. 31 successful Scranton, Pa. He was 51.

Erika Soto Lamb, a person and erstwhile workfellow astatine the enactment Everytown for Gun Safety, wherever Mr. Glaze was a erstwhile enforcement director, said his decease was a suicide. Mr. Glaze had been successful jailhouse aft being arrested connected a complaint of driving nether the power successful September.

Mr. Glaze was already a seasoned governmental organizer successful January 2011 erstwhile helium joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an enactment that was founded by Michael R. Bloomberg and much than a twelve different mayors. He worked for the enactment portion time, arsenic a advisor connected indebtedness from the Raben Group, a nationalist affairs firm.

Gun unit was astatine the clip 1 of those issues that Washington insiders compared to the weather: thing everyone talked astir but nary 1 did thing to change. The National Rifle Association controlled the topic, cajoling adjacent mean Democrats to reason immoderate effort to modulate firearms.

A decennary later, weapon unit is simply a winning contented for galore authorities and section governments, the N.R.A. is successful tatters and Congress is progressively consenting to basal up for weapon information — a drastic displacement that galore property to Mr. Glaze’s tireless organizing and superb strategizing.

“Mark unquestionably was 1 of the architects of the weapon information movement,” John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said successful a telephone interview.

The changes happened implicit respective years amid a bid of high-profile wide shootings. It started a fewer days aft Mr. Glaze joined the organization, erstwhile a gunman changeable 19 radical successful a parking batch successful Tucson, Ariz., sidesplitting six and injuring 13, including Representative Gabby Giffords.

Then, connected Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman killed 26 people, mostly children, astatine Sandy Hook Elementary School successful Newtown, Conn.

Newtown was a tragedy, but arsenic Mr. Glaze instantly recognized, it was besides an accidental for action. So did the White House: President Barack Obama promised to enactment “everything I’ve got” into passing important gun-control legislation.

Working disconnected a blueprint provided by Mr. Glaze, the White House called for a renewed prohibition connected battle weapons, expanded inheritance checks and different measures. But implicit the adjacent fewer months, contempt wide nationalist support, the measure was whittled down by senators from some parties who faced unrelenting unit from the N.R.A.

By April, adjacent a watered-down measurement to amended inheritance checks failed to wide the 60-vote threshold needed to bushed a filibuster.

It was a stinging decision for Mr. Obama and the weapon power movement, but Mr. Glaze saw a metallic lining. He understood what had to beryllium done: He had to bushed the N.R.A. astatine its ain game. Rather than absorption connected Washington and hold for a wide shooting to spur involvement successful weapon control, helium would physique from the writer roots and make a imperishable unit run connected politicians astatine each level, from the White House to metropolis halls.

“They for a procreation person had this tract to themselves,” helium said of the N.R.A. successful a 2013 interrogation with The Wall Street Journal. “There has truly been thing connected the different broadside successful presumption of grass-roots strength, strength connected astir days oregon enactment connected Election Day,”

He resigned from the Raben Group to enactment afloat clip for Mayors Against Illegal Guns. He hired dozens of unit members and much than doubled the fig of mayors endorsing the organization. He rallied section activists and enactment unit connected purple- and red-state Democrats, who are often the astir responsive to N.R.A. pressure. And helium made himself a look of the movement, going connected tv speech shows and speaking to immoderate newsman who would listen.

Mr. Glaze, who was gay, took peculiar inspiration from the question for same-sex marriage, which had for decades pushed for changes astatine the authorities and section level earlier taking connected Congress and the Supreme Court.

“We felt keenly that determination are immoderate issues wherever Congress was the curtain-raiser, and immoderate wherever it’s a finale,” Mr. Feinblatt said.

Mr. Glaze drew arsenic from the past of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which had rallied women activists to propulsion for tougher drinking-and-driving laws. He sought allies among the expanding fig of mothers who were starring a akin complaint connected guns.

In 2014, Mayors Against Illegal Guns merged with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense successful America to signifier Everytown for Gun Safety. Both organizations had received important fiscal enactment from Mr. Bloomberg,

Mr. Glaze stepped down from Everytown a fewer months aboriginal to unfastened his ain consulting firm, but helium continued to dedicate overmuch of his clip to weapon safety. He helped recovered the radical Guns Down, and helium consulted for Giffords and the enactment Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

By the clip of the wide shooting astatine a precocious schoolhouse successful Parkland, Fla., successful February 2018, successful which a gunman killed 17 radical and injured 17 others, the scenery had fundamentally shifted. The contented moved into the streets, with protests and boycotts of companies that dealt with the N.R.A., arsenic good arsenic civilian lawsuits that near the weapon lobby reeling.

Although Mr. Glaze ne'er claimed credit, different activists said that displacement would not person happened without him.

“Those successes would not person been imaginable without leaders similar Mark who worked to close the nonaccomplishment of the question successful the aftermath of the Newtown votes,” Igor Volsky, the enforcement manager of Guns Down, said successful a telephone interview.

Mark Charles Glaze was calved connected Oct. 21, 1970, successful Pueblo, Colo. His father, Charles Glaze, owned a weapon store and belonged to the N.R.A.; his mother, Nancy Green, was a homemaker.

“If you had told maine erstwhile I was increasing up successful the mountains of Colorado, shooting guns connected the play with a dada who is an N.R.A. subordinate and a weapon dealer, that The Wall Street Journal would telephone maine the look of the weapon power movement, I’m not definite I would person believed you,” Mr. Glaze said successful a video helium made for Colorado College, his alma mater.

Mr. Glaze graduated from Colorado College successful 1992 with a grade successful governmental system and received a instrumentality grade from the George Washington University successful 1996. After instrumentality school, helium worked for a fig of campaign-finance betterment organizations earlier joining the Raben Group.

He is survived by his son, Archer.

Mr. Glaze had agelong struggled with addiction and depression. His apprehension came aft helium fled the country of a car accident.

Gun power mightiness person been his bequest and his passion, but Mr. Glaze said it was thing helium had conscionable “stumbled into” amid his enactment connected issues similar teacher unions, cheery rights and planetary quality rights.

“The enactment I similar to do,” helium said successful the Colorado College video, “involves big-issue campaigns wherever you’re trying to alteration nationalist argumentation for the better, and those campaigns impact tons of moving parts.”

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