Recent years have seen Moms Demand Action expand its legislative advocacy to address new and emerging threats, particularly the rise of ghost guns and other DIY firearms. In 2024, Polymer80, the largest manufacturer of ghost gun kits and parts, shut down after Everytown and Moms Demand Action led an effort to hold the company accountable in court. Last year, with the support of local chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, California signed first-of-its-kind legislation that prohibits gun dealers from selling “DIY machine guns,” or firearms that can be easily converted into fully automatic weapons. And in May, New York passed a bill preventing 3-D printers from downloading software that aids in the production of ghost guns. “[Gun violence] is so pervasive because access—unfettered access—is the problem,” Ferrell-Zabala says.

Issue-based organizing is familiar territory for Ferrell-Zabala, who, before joining Moms Demand Action, spent much of her career working for organizations focused on racial justice and reproductive health rights, including Planned Parenthood. “I remember often hearing growing up, from my mom, that we're not okay if others are not okay,” she says. “My mother got that fire in her belly and gave it to me.” 

Ferrell-Zabala’s past experience organizing for racial justice continues to shape her work. While gun violence affects people across racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines, Black and brown children are disproportionately impacted; a Brady analysis found Black children to be 13.6 times more likely to die by firearm violence than non-Hispanic white children. To help address these disparities, Moms Demand Action chapters stay connected with organizations on the front lines, partnering with local violence intervention groups in the aftermath of a shooting. “There's this chain of events that has to happen,” she says, “to prevent the next shooting, [prevent] retaliatory shooting, [and] make sure there's healing and community.”

A mother of four, Ferrell-Zabala advocates for reform not only on behalf of her own children but for everyone’s children. She underscores that while Moms Demand Action advocates for gun safety from all angles—culture, politics, legislation, policy, and research—simply having a conversation with your neighbors is a step in the right direction. “When you drop your kid off at a sleepover or playdate, all it takes is asking a question about whether or not the firearms are secured,” she says. “[There are] simple actions we can take to move this forward.”