Release: Giffords, Kelly wrap up week-long, seven-state tour
ARS Hits 500,000-Member Mark On Six-Month Anniversary
July 8, 2013– Gabby Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly concluded their successful seven-day, seven-state Rights and Responsibilities Tour in North Carolina yesterday. Kicking off July 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the numbers tell the story of Mark and Gabby’s tour:
- Visited seven states in seven days: Las Vegas, Nevada; Anchorage, Alaska; Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota; Cincinnati, Ohio; Manchester, Whitefield and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Traveled more than 10,000 miles, or nearly half the circumference of the Earth.
- Visited the most Northern, Eastern and Western state in the nation: Alaska.
- Stopped in more than a dozen counties in seven states, from Chugiak County in Alaska to Cumberland County in Maine.
- Shook more than 1,000 hands as they met with hundreds of gun owners, law enforcement officials, families, doctors, non-gun owners, and Americans affected by gun violence.
- At shooting ranges in Nevada, Alaska, New Hampshire and North Carolina, Mark fired a.22, a.45, and a.357 handgun; a 30-06 bolt-action rifle, a Weatherby Vanguard MOA.223, and a 12-gauge over-under. Gabby fired a gun for the first time since her assassination attempt, hitting the target with a.22 handgun.
- Visited four of the six U.S. time zones: Alaska, Pacific, Central and Eastern.
“All over America, we were welcomed by gun owners and non-gun owners alike who share our mission to pass common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence – and to protect our right to own and use our guns responsibly,” said Kelly, co-founder of Americans For Responsible Solutions. “It was so valuable for Gabby and me to hear from people in states that have a long tradition of gun ownership, like our home state of Arizona does. What they told us, over and over again, is that they believe our cherished Second Amendment rights bring an important responsibility to make sure guns don’t fall into the wrong hands. They made it clear they want their elected officials to pass expanded background checks.”
At the end of the tour, Kelly and Giffords announced that ARS hit the 500,000-member mark on the organization’s six-month anniversary (July 8). And recent multi-state polling conducted by ARS shows that support for common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence remains high across the nation, including in states with a high percentage of gun owners.
State-by-State Highlights
Nevada: July 1
Kelly and Giffords visited the Clark County Shooting Complex, where Giffords shot a handgun for the first time since her assassination attempt. They then held a roundtable with local small business owners at the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce.
“From a law enforcement perspective, this legislation is important because it makes it harder for criminals and people who shouldn’t have guns to obtain them,” said Police Sergeant Leonard Cardinale, City of North Las Vegas, representing the North Las Vegas Police Supervisors.
“As a Republican, a gun owner, and supporter of the Second Amendment, I can say these are the types of solutions both parties need to get behind,” said Otto Merida, Chairman of the Latino Chamber of Commerce, speaking after a roundtable event held with local business leaders. “Background checks protect our rights and save lives.”
Alaska: July 2
Kelly began the day shooting at Birchwood Shooting Range, where he met with local hunters and gun owners. Later, he and Giffords met with local Americans for Responsible Solutions supporters and Alaskan gun owners at a roundtable, and visited Resolution Park in Anchorage.
“Today’s discussion brought a good array of Alaskan viewpoints to the table,” said Dave Lyons, a former hunting guide who now co-chairs the Alaska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. “It’s time that Alaskans come together and start discussing reasonable, responsible ways to prevent needless gun violence.”
North Dakota: July 3
Giffords and Kelly began the day at a pancake breakfast in Bismarck with supporters and faith leaders, including Pastor John Splichal Larson of Faith Lutheran Church, before heading to Fargo for a meeting with more than 100 local supporters at Atomic Coffee.
Ohio: July 4
On Independence Day, Giffords and Kelly began the day at a press conference where they were joined by supporters, local leadership, and veterans who spoke with one voice on why they’re with Americans for Responsible Solutions:
“We have a gun violence epidemic in this country,” said Charles Hart, an Air Force veteran and avid hunter from Springfield, Ohio. “I’m a veteran and longtime NRA member, and I support common-sense measures like expanded background checks to keep guns away from criminals.”
After the press conference, Giffords and Kelly rode in the Northside Independence day parade, joined by local Americans for Responsible Solutions supporters.
New Hampshire: July 4-5
Giffords and Kelly began their visit on July 4 at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats minor league baseball game, where they threw out the first pitch. On July 5, Kelly began the day at the Village Gun Shop in Whitefield, where he met with store owners Stan and Sandy Holz and then headed to a local shooting range for target practice. Later, Giffords and Kelly held a press conference in Manchester, where they were joined by local leaders and law enforcement:
“Expanding background checks is common sense, and so is responsible gun ownership” said Patricia LaFrance, Hillsborough County Attorney. “Mark and Gabby know it. People in New Hampshire know it. Americans know it. We must come together to solve this problem if we want to keep our kids and our families safe.”
“In Nashua, we continue to see the use of illegal guns in the commission of a crime and the presence of guns among criminals. The Nashua Police Department arrests those criminals and prosecutes them, and they will continue to do,” said Nashua Police Commissioner Thomas Pappas. “But we need help in trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. It would help law enforcement and make our communities safer if we did more to prevent criminals from buying guns in the first place.”
At the end of the day, Giffords and Kelly headed to Portsmouth to meet with supporters.
Maine: July 6
Giffords and Kelly began their visit at Portland City Hall, where they were joined by law enforcement, local leadership, and several parents whose children were victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
“It’s not a Democratic or Republican issue. Expanded background checks are supported by majorities in states across the country,” said Larry Gilbert, Sr., Mayor of Lewiston, Maine.
“We know what happens when guns get into the hands of people who shouldn’t have them – criminals, the dangerously mentally ill. We see the carnage that brings to communities. Our colleagues and friends in the law enforcement community feel the risk and pain of this every day,” said Vern Malloch, assistant chief of the Portland Police Department.
Following the press conference, Giffords and Kelly met with local Americans for Responsible Solutions supporters, and were then joined by Sally and Gus Christ from Maine, and Regina Kaut and Charles Kim Holley from Arkansas – the winners of a contest for a lobster dinner – at DiMillo’s on the Water.
North Carolina: July 7
Kelly began his visit at Kidds Place Sporting Clay Range, where he was joined by local gun owners for a morning of clay target shooting. Later, Giffords and Kelly met at The Pit BBQ restaurant for a roundtable discussion with local gun owners and non-gun owners about how we can work together to find sensible solutions that will keep our communities safer from gun violence while respecting our Second Amendment rights. Finally, they joined a picnic of Americans for Responsible Solutions supporters – local residents who’ve been leading the fight to make sure our elected leaders hear the voices of citizens who are committed to finding common ground.
“As a former police officer, I’ve owned a gun for more than 47 years. I know firsthand how violence devastates communities, and that’s one of many reasons why I support expanded background checks to keep guns away from criminals, the mentally ill and terrorists,” said Hilton Cancel, a Raleigh resident who led the roundtable at The Pit BBQ.
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