Statement by Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly on the Tragic Mass Shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida

June 12, 2016

June 12, 2016 – Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), issued the below statement following this morning’s mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida:

“This is a sad and dark day for this country we all love. “We want to say that this tragedy is unthinkable. But it is not. “Once again, a mass shooting has torn a community apart. Make no mistake: Our country is in the grips of a gun violence crisis. It claimed at least 50 lives early this morning. It claimed 33,000 lives last year. “Some will say that our nation must accept this as the new normal. Some will say that there is nothing we can do to make our country safer from gun violence. It’s not true. We cannot let armed ambushes become the new normal in our country. We have to do better than this. And we can. We have to do more to ensure hatred doesn’t find its evil voice in the crack of a gunshot. We are heartbroken that this attack allegedly targeted our country’s LGBTQ community as they celebrated Pride Month. “We are incredibly grateful to the first responders who acted so bravely this morning to save lives and bring this horror to an end. We grieve for those taken and with their loved ones, and we pray for strength for the injured. Our hearts and prayers are in Orlando and with our fellow Americans in the LGBTQ community.”