I’ve always said there’s no place I’d rather call home than Tucson. This community is so important to me. It was an honor to watch @GabbyMovie with my friends and family last night at an Arizona institution, @TheLoftCinema. pic.twitter.com/hZKe02gHIr
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) July 6, 2022
This week, a prominent gun-control organization announced that it would be dropping $10 million to help elect anti-gun candidates in key battleground states.
Giffords, the anti-gun organization spearheaded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, said Wednesday that it would be deploying its multimillion-dollar war chest via its Giffords PAC in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Colorado this election cycle.
And that the funds would go to support candidates at the local, state, and federal levels but with a specific emphasis on those who “stand up for safer communities.”
“We need to elect candidates across the country who have the courage to act to keep their communities safe from gun violence. Today, we are announcing our plan to support them in 2022 and beyond,” said Giffords in a press release obtained by GunsAmerica.
“Every day, too many of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones lose their lives to senseless gun violence,” she continued. “This historic investment is designed to keep communities safe by giving more gun violence prevention advocates a seat at the table in city commission meetings, state legislatures, and the halls of Congress.”
Much of the money will be used to create digital and television ads. Additional resources will be spent on organizing efforts and public events.
Giffords PAC is backing Democratic incumbents Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to replace Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, reports Politico.
News of the $10 million investment comes on the heels of an announcement from the White House that the Biden administration would give Giffords the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with 16 other recipients, including the late John McCain.
On Twitter, Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly celebrated the announcement.
The leadership and legacy of my wife @GabbyGiffords and the late Senator John McCain are unmatched.
These two great American heroes are well-deserving of our country’s highest civilian honor.https://t.co/6dChW8rMaB
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) July 2, 2022
I’m deeply humbled and honored that @POTUS will be awarding me the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Serving southern Arizona in Congress was an honor of a lifetime, but I’m also lucky to have had a second chance at service: in the fight to end gun violence. https://t.co/9djr89YJ6t
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) July 1, 2022
Along with the $10 million in funding and the announcement regarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Giffords has a new documentary about her life premiering on July 13th, called “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.”
The obvious question is, who is funding all of this?
Was the money the product of small donations from a large membership of working-class people or was it handed over in chunks by one or two wealthy elites?
Alan Gottlieb from the Second Amendment Foundation had an answer.
“This shows how well-financed the gun prohibition lobby is. There is no doubt that billionaires have opened their checkbooks for an assault on our Second Amendment rights,” Gottlieb told GunsAmerica via email.
“I have no doubt that we are going to be outspent but we must counter this with boots on the ground by having gun owners engaged in election campaigns in every state,” he concluded.
is the News Editor of GunsAmerica.
