Gabby Giffords And Mark Kelly On The U.S. Senate’s Failure To Act To Reduce Gun Violence In The Wake Of The Orlando Tragedy

June 20, 2016

June 20, 2016 – Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions , issued the following statement today responding to the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass two amendments – one closing loopholes in the nation’s background check laws and the other closing the “terror gap” loophole that lets known or suspected terrorists buy guns – in the wake of last week’s tragedy in Orlando, Florida:

“Today, the U.S. Senate failed to pave the way for responsible changes that would make our communities safer places to live. Faced with the opportunity to vote for proposals that would build a foundation of action for closing the loopholes in our laws that let terror suspects, felons, and domestic abusers have easy access to guns, some senators voted to protect those loopholes – for the irresponsible status quo.“Once again, we wish we could use words like ‘unimaginable’ and ‘unthinkable’ to describe this reckless inaction – especially as it comes in the wake of the most deadly mass shooting in our nation’s history. But we cannot.“Once again, some United States Senators ignored the will of the American people, and stood with the gun lobby. The American people deserve leaders who will protect them and represent their interests, not the interests of the corporate gun lobby. We will do whatever it takes to ensure Americans know that their elected representatives in Washington betrayed them.”