Giffords Endorses Elaine Luria for Congress in Virginia

May 8, 2018

May 8, 2018 – Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Elaine Luria, candidate for Virginia’s 2nd congressional district . Luria 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.

After spending 20 years in Naval uniform, Elaine Luria is acutely aware of the harm weapons of war can cause on the streets of America. Elaine has made gun violence prevention a top priority in her race for the Virginia 2nd congressional district. She supports universal background checks on all gun sales, prohibiting the sale of assault weapons, and repealing the Dickey Amendment so that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can study gun violence.

“For more than two decades, Elaine has dedicated herself to serving our country.,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords. “Elaine understands that public service means constantly looking for solutions that make our society safer and stronger. That’s why as she campaigns for Congress, putting an end to our country’s gun violence crisis is one of her top priorities. With shootings so common that few even make national headlines, we need leaders like Elaine who know that the time is now to enact strong gun safety laws. We need leaders like Elaine fighting for us in Washington more than ever. ” Elaine Luria said, ”Americans have the right to feel safe in their schools, on their streets, and within our communities. In Congress, I will fight for commonsense gun safety measures, like universal background checks, to reduce preventable gun violence and keep our children safe. I’m honored to be working alongside Giffords to achieve the goal of safer communities.”

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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