Gabby Giffords Joins Local Leaders in Minnetonka And Apple Valley As Part of Her National “Vocal Majority” Bus Tour, Endorses Candidates for Minnesota Legislature
October 5, 2016 – Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the Co-Founder of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC (ARS PAC), was joined by local leaders today at events in Minnetonka and Apple Valley as part of her 14-state, 42-day national “Vocal Majority” bus tour. At both of today’s events, Giffords and local leaders stood together to call on Minnesotans to vote this November for candidates who are committed to responsible change that helps keep guns out of the wrong hands and save lives.
The events in Minnetonka and Apple Valley, which included the launch of a canvass and phone bank at campaign field offices, were the eighth and ninth stops, respectively, i n the 14-state, 42-day Vocal Majority Tour. Congresswoman Giffords and her husband, ARS PAC Co-Founder, Navy combat veteran, and retired NASA astronaut Captain Kelly, launched the tour on September 27th in Orlando, Florida, the site of the deadliest mass shooting in our country’s history, the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub that left 49 people dead. The Vocal Majority Tour events and national tour are being organized and hosted ARS PAC, the gun violence prevention organization founded by Congresswoman Giffords and her husband, Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Kelly
Following the events today, the Vocal Majority Tour will host a rally in St. Paul tomorrow morning before heading to events with community leaders in Wisconsin and Ohio.
As part of ARS PAC’s “Vocal Majority” tour stop, ARS PAC endorsed 31 candidates for the Minnesota Legislature as Minnesota Champions for the Vocal Majority, citing each candidate’s support for gun violence prevention policies that will keep guns out of the wrong hands and make our communities safer.
ARS PAC’s Minnesota Champions for the Vocal Majority running for the House of Representatives are:
Zachary Dorholt (District 14B)
Patty Fritz (District 24B)
Representative Melissa Hortman (District 36B)
Laurie Pryor (District 48A)
Representative Debra Hilstrom (District 40B)
Representative Peter Fischer (District 43A)
Ginny Klevorn (District 44A)
Jaime Becker Finn (District 42B)
Representative Cheryl Youakim (District 46B)
Representative Sandra Masin (District 51A)
Representative JoAnn Ward (District 53A)
Don Slaten (District 54B)
Lindsey Port (District 56B)
Erin MayeQuade (District 57A)
Ilhan Omar (District 60B)
Representative Paul Thissen (District 61B)
Representative David Pinto (District 64B)
Representative John Lesch (District 66B)
ARS PAC’s Minnesota Champions for the Vocal Majority running for the Minnesota State Senate include:
Senator Tom Bakk (District 3)
Senator Kent Eken (District 4)
Senator Tom Saxhaug (District 5)
Senator Vicki Jensen (District 24)
Senator Ron Latz (District 46)
Deb Calvert (District 44)
Steve Cwodzinski (District 48)
Senator Jim Carlson (District 51)
Representative Dan Schoen (District 54)
Senator Greg Clausen (District 57)
Senator Kari Dziedzic (District 60)
Senator Scott Dibble (District 61)
Senator Richard Cohen (District 64)
The Vocal Majority Tour and ARS PAC’s endorsements of pro-gun violence prevention candidates are part of ARS PAC’s “Vocal Majority” campaign this fall to mobilize millions of Americans to make the 2016 election a referendum on gun violence prevention and to support leaders up and down the ballot who are committed to taking responsible steps that reduce gun violence.
Each year, gun violence claims the lives of 33,000 Americans and over 100,000 are injured. In 2014, 374 Minnesotans were shot and killed. According to recent research, 86 percent of Minnesotans support responsible changes to our gun laws that help keep guns out of the wrong hands, including closing the loopholes in our laws that let felons, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill buy guns without a criminal background check, as well as loopholes that let known and suspected terrorists pass a background check and legally purchase a gun.
About The 2016 Vocal Majority Tour
A project of Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, the Vocal Majority Tour is just one component of Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC’s 2016 Vocal Majority campaign to make 2016 a referendum on gun violence prevention. Along with the nationwide bus tour, the campaign also includes making significant investments in races and ballot initiatives across the country to support pro-gun violence prevention candidates and responsible ballot initiatives. Learn more at www.TheVocalMajority.com.
About Gun Violence in the United States
- Americans are nearly 20 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than people in other peer countries. [Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 2011]
- Each year, 33,000 Americans die from gun violence. [WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2010]
- Over the past 15 years, the gun murder rate has remained largely unchanged – even as violent crime has dropped. While America’s rate of violent crime has generally decreased over the past 15 years, the gun murder rate in the U.S. has remained relatively constant. [Everytown for Gun Safety, 2014]
- The number of shootings is on the rise. While the number of gun murders in the U.S. has remained constant, the number of shootings has been increasing. The number of non-fatal gunshot wounds rose more than 50 percent between 2001 and 2013. [Everytown for Gun Safety, 2014]