Giffords Endorses Danny O’Connor for Congress in Ohio
The endorsement comes as part of Giffords’ #VoteCourage Campaign to elect gun safety candidates nationwide
July 24, 2018 — Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Danny O’Connor’s special election campaign in Ohio’s 12th congressional district.
Danny O’Connor is running for Congress to make sure our leaders are looking out for the people of Ohio, not Washington special interests. Raised in a rural community, he understands and respects the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners. He also knows that we need to do more than offer our thoughts and prayers to fight the gun violence epidemic. In Congress, Danny will support closing loopholes that allow terrorists, domestic abusers, convicted criminals from getting their hands on firearms.
“Danny is fighting to put the safety of Ohio communities ahead of the interests of the gun lobby in Washington DC,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords. “He is a champion for gun safety who is bold enough to imagine a world where the type of violence we’ve seen is no longer a daily problem. Voters in Ohio and across the country are tired of politicians who say these acts of violence are acts of nature, beyond our control. We are proud to support Danny because he is someone who isn’t afraid to stand up and pass laws to protect our children and keep guns out of dangerous hands.”
Danny is running against Troy Balderson, a state senator who routinely boasts of his ‘A’ rating from the NRA. In the wake of Parkland, Balderson failed to stand up to the gun lobby and join fellow Ohio Republicans in supporting an expansion of extreme risk protection orders. Despite growing bipartisan support for gun safer gun laws, Balderson opposes common sense measures like requiring background checks on all gun sales.
Giffords’ #VoteCourage campaign is 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 targets 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.
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