07.31.25 • Featured
How a Weekend with Demand a Seat Prepared Two Sisters to Turn Their Grief Into Action and Campaign for Change
An avid musician, drumming came naturally to Christin Harris. “He had natural born talent,” his mother, Sharon Robinson, said. Most twelve-year-olds don’t play in their high school band, let alone serve as section leader. Christin did both. But Christin was more than a musician, and his leadership didn’t stop there.
As an adult, Christin was a camp counselor and retail manager. He took each job seriously, leading by example as he worked toward one of his biggest dreams: starting his own trucking company. He had even recently earned his commercial driver’s license, bringing him one step closer to making his dream a reality.
Love also came naturally to Christin—and he made sure the people in his life understood how much they meant to him. “To know how much love he had for me and how open he was about talking about his feelings,” Sharon explained, “that’s the beauty for me of who Christin was. Christin loved people, he loved everybody.”
And boy, did Christin love his kids. He had three: two daughters and a son. After he became a father, Christin often joked that his mother had gone soft when she doted on her grandchildren.
Christin with each of his three children
Cynthia Duhart, Sharon’s sister, was also close to Christin. She fondly recounted an afternoon when Christin came over to help paint her house. Their conversation landed on one of their favorite movies: The Princess and the Frog. Laughter filled the room as they acted out different scenes together. As she spoke about that day, Cynthia’s laughter came just as easily.
She also shared another treasured moment between her and Christin. When Christin saw that Cynthia wasn’t dancing at her own 50th birthday party, he immediately swept her away to the dance floor. “He was my dancing partner,” Cynthia said.
One of the last times Sharon heard from her son was on Friday, October 8th, 2021. Sharon and Christin were on the phone, chatting as they always did. Before hanging up, Christin once again expressed his love for his mother. “Mama, you know you’re my best friend,” Christin told her.
Three days later, Christin was shot and killed. He was waiting in line to purchase snacks at a random convenience store in Atlanta.
Sharon and Christin at a masquerade party a few weeks before he was killed.
The party was the last time Sharon saw Christin in person.
Over 19,000 people die by gun homicide each year in the United States—more than 11,000 of whom, like Christin, are Black. It’s essential to recognize that gun violence disproportionately impacts historically marginalized communities. And that deaths from daily gun violence, such as gun homicides, often receive substantially less attention and public support than gun deaths in more publicized events, like mass shootings.
Through their local Moms Demand Action chapters and the Everytown Survivor Fellowship Program, Sharon and Cynthia found community with others who had also lost loved ones to senseless gun violence. Together, the two sisters began to call for reform—including stronger secure gun storage laws—to prevent more people from experiencing the same grief.
Eventually, Sharon and Cynthia were ready to go beyond advocating for common-sense gun laws—they wanted to help write them. In 2024, they decided to apply for Everytown Victory Fund’s Demand a Seat Program. Through mentorship, networking, and educational sessions, the program prepares participants to run for office and work on campaigns to elect Gun Sense Candidates. After completing the 12-week virtual program, they wanted more.
So on a Wednesday the following March, both sisters packed their bags. The next morning, they headed for a hotel in Philadelphia.
Sharon and Cynthia weren’t alone. As they wheeled their suitcases through the sliding glass doors and into the lobby, 30 other participants trickled in behind them. They hailed from 19 different states and represented a wide range of professions, including educators, non-profit leaders, and small-business owners. But they were all in Philadelphia for the same reason: the March 2025 Demand a Seat Bootcamp. In three action-packed days, they would learn how to build and run winning campaigns for gun safety candidates.
Through a series of workshops, Sharon and Cynthia learned about the various aspects of campaigning, including voter engagement, volunteer recruitment, and working with media and press. Soon, they even got to hear from someone who not long ago had been in their shoes: Trenton, NJ Councilwoman Teska Frisby, Moms Demand Action volunteer and Demand a Seat graduate turned elected official.
They realized they could run and win too.
The March 2025 Demand a Seat Campaign Management Bootcamp Participants
During the program, Demand a Seat gave Sharon and Cynthia the opportunity to create mock campaigns. Each team of 4-5 participants was given a different hypothetical scenario with a specified candidate and political landscape. One person assumed the role of the candidate, while the remaining members took on other roles that interested them, such as Communications Director, Campaign Manager, and Fundraiser.
“It felt like I was running a real campaign,” Cynthia explained, “not just reading information from a slide, but actually putting the work in.”
Sharon felt the same way. To her, the ads they created felt like actual commercials. The budget she meticulously crafted as her team’s Fundraiser was practical. And in the end, their final presentation to a panel of judges was a great test-run of what it would be like to pitch a campaign to potential donors. “I didn’t even realize we hadn’t left the hotel at all,” Sharon laughed.
Though several months have passed since that weekend in Philadelphia, the experience has stuck with them. For Cynthia and Sharon, it was powerful to attend the bootcamp together as sisters. Not only did they feel themselves become more confident, but they saw that change in each other too. “To uniquely be in that space with my sister, it is superb,” Sharon said.
Being the youngest of three, Sharon would often follow Cynthia’s example growing up. Now, Sharon gets to watch her big sister as she considers running for local office in Georgia. And she’ll be there to support Cynthia—using what she learned from Demand a Seat—every step of the way. “She’s been my biggest supporter,” Cynthia said. But that much was already clear.
Thanks to Demand a Seat, Sharon is equipped to support any Gun Sense Candidate, and she intends to do so in her home state of North Carolina. One day, she may even run for office herself.
That, to them, is the true power of the Demand a Seat program—recognizing that no matter who you are, what state you live in, or what your story is, there is a place for you in elected office. And now, they have the tools, training, and confidence to get there.
“Whatever type of seat that’s open,” Sharon said, “start with the Demand a Seat Program. You won’t regret it.”
People like Sharon and Cynthia are learning how to bring the fight for gun safety to the campaign trail—and so can you. In order to be part of the solution, you have to Demand a Seat at the table.
Demand a Seat is currently accepting applications for its Fall 2025 Virtual Cohort. Register for the upcoming information session on August 19th. Applications are due on August 29th.
Author – Merin McCallum
Merin McCallum (she/her) was the Summer 2025 Web Content Intern at Everytown for Gun Safety.