Giffords Endorses Chrissy Houlahan for Congress in Pennsylvania

May 8, 2018

Washington DC – Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Chrissy Houlahan, candidate for Pennsylvania’s 6th congressional district . Houlahan is one of 11 candidates Giffords endorsed today as part of its #VoteCourage campaign to elect gun safety champions, and joins a growing list of endorsed candidates supported by Giffords in 2018.

As an Air Force veteran, educator, and business leader, Chrissy Houlahan has made gun violence a central part of her campaign. Chrissy also has personal experience with gun violence, as her family member was a first responder to the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school. As a congressional candidate, she has promised to fight to close the gun show loophole, fund gun violence prevention research, and ban assault weapons.

“Strong women get things done,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords. “From serving our country in the Air Force to serving our students in the classroom, Chrissy is no stranger to fighting for the greater good. And we need leaders just like Chrissy representing us Congress. The entrenched interests of the gun lobby may seem impenetrable at times, but not to Chrissy. Once in office, I know she will commit to doing everything in her power to tackle the gun violence epidemic and make our communities safe.” Chrissy Houlahan said, “I am third generation military and I support the Second Amendment and responsible gun ownership, but we must take commonsense steps to reduce gun violence. Enough is enough, and if elected, I am committed to pursuing commonsense gun safety measures, including closing the gun show loophole, renewing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and restrictions on high-capacity firearm magazines, and universal criminal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers.”

In February, Giffords launched the #VoteCourage campaign aimed at electing gun safety advocates to Congress and defeating politicians who have historically worked against gun reform, or done nothing at all to prevent gun violence. The political program is targeting incumbents in mostly suburban districts and uses a mixture of TV and digital advertising, on-the-ground organizing, and a voter registration push to create momentum for meaningful progress on gun safety.

The mass shooting at Parkland, Florida crystallized the country’s frustration with the lack of action to pass gun safety laws. Currently, the country is averaging nearly 34,000 deaths from guns every year, and recent polling shows that support for stronger gun laws is at an all-time high.

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