Indie Sister Duo Aly & AJ Team Up With Northwell Health to Help Prevent Gun Violence

Throughout their North American tour, the duo will be encouraging fans every night to take a pledge to ask if there are any unlocked guns in the home they are living in or visiting

Indie sister duo Aly & AJ continue to use their touring as a platform to drive awareness to causes that are important to them. Today they announce a deeply personal collaboration with Northwell Health, New York’s largest health system, to raise awareness and help prevent gun violence. While kicking off their national “With Love From” tour, the sisters will ask their fans and followers to agree to ask, “Is there an unlocked gun in the home you are living in or visiting?”

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In collaboration with Northwell Health, Aly & AJ are asking their fans to pledge to ask about access to unlocked guns. (Credit: Stephen Ringer)

It’s a cause of importance to the sister duo; while on tour in April 2022 they were caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Sacramento that left six people dead and seven injured. After seeing the devastation firsthand, spending the following months reflecting on the experience and researching how they could make a difference, they turned to Northwell because of a recently spearheaded national awareness campaign urging parents to ask others the same question about access to firearms.

Guns are the No. 1 killer of children in the United States and 13 kids die from firearms daily. In response to the shocking statistics, Northwell has rallied more than 1,000 other hospitals, associations and health systems to spread the campaign’s message, “It Doesn’t Kill to Ask.” Parents who saw the campaign are 89 percent more likely to ask other parents about an unlocked gun in the home.

During their current tour, Aly & AJ will take a moment in each show to implore the audience to scan a QR code to take the pledge. After agreeing to the pledge, fans will be put into the running to meet the sisters backstage after the show. The goal is to break the stigma against talking about gun safety and raise awareness about properly securing firearms, all in the effort to prevent gun violence.

“As survivors of a mass shooting, this pledge is personal to us and we hope that by speaking about this on stage every night, the awareness around this important question will become normalized,” said Aly and AJ. “This question will save lives. It’s a matter of encouraging people to ask it without hesitation. Most people have no idea if there is an unlocked firearm being stored in the home they are living in or visiting. That is a huge problem and one we are trying to shed light on.”

The duo’s collaboration with Northwell helps amplify the mission to frame our nation’s gun violence as a health crisis. Since 2019, Northwell Health has led the charge in research, education and advocacy through its Center for Gun Violence Prevention. Last year, Northwell formed the National Health Care CEO Council on Gun Violence Prevention & Safety, which includes nearly 50 CEOs from health systems across the U.S. pledging to pool their resources and work together.

“It is a travesty that guns are now the leading cause of death among kids. To help prevent unnecessary shootings and curb violence, we need to talk openly about gun safety,” said Ramon Soto, Northwell’s senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. “We are thrilled to be working with Aly and AJ, who will be able to share their life experience, connect with their fans and spark this much-needed conversation.”

To take the pledge, go to pledgetoask.org. For Aly and AJ’s tour stops, go to alyandaj.com.

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 83,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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