Giffords Endorses Elissa Slotkin for Congress in Michigan
The endorsement comes as part of Giffords’ #VoteCourage Campaign to elect gun reform candidates nationwide
July 25, 2018— Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Elissa Slotkin in Michigan’s eighth congressional district.
“Politicians bought and paid for by the gun lobby to defend the firearms industry can no longer get away with saying thoughts and prayers and then staying silent. They can no longer say acts of violence are acts of nature, beyond our control. They are not, and the American people know it. They’re tired of politicians who claim to represent them failing to take action to keep them safe. This year, voters are demanding leaders with the courage to fight for a nation where gun violence is not a daily problem,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords. “Voters are ready to elect leaders, like Elissa Slotkin, who will always put protecting the safety of our communities first, not themselves, and certainly not the gun lobby. Elissa’s her career in the CIA proves she has what it takes to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and fight for solutions that will keep our schools, streets, churches and communities safe. Giffords is proud to endorse Elissa Slotkin for Congress because she has the courage stand up to the corporate gun lobby and she’s someone who will never stop working to make Michigan’s communities safer.”
Elissa Slotkin has served our nation for fourteen years, including three tours in Iraq with the CIA, and has worked proudly for both Republican and Democratic presidents. Now she’s running for Congress, in her home state of Michigan, in order to bring that spirit of service to Washington. Elissa knows that Congress has failed in its duty to keep our children and families safe, and she will fight to close loopholes that allow dangerous individuals to get their hands on firearms.
Rather than engage in meaningful discussions on how we can balance Second Amendment rights with measures to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals, Elissa’s opponent, Congressman Mike Bishop, has chosen to pursue high ratings and campaign contributions from the NRA as a reward for rubber stamping the gun lobby’s extreme agenda. Ending the apathy in Congress towards saving lives from gun violence starts with voting out members like Bishop.
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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