Giffords Endorses Kathleen Williams for Congress in Montana
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 Kathleen Williams in Montana’s at-large 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 Kathleen Williams, who will always put protecting the safety of our communities first, not themselves, and certainly not the gun lobby. Kathleen has what it takes to take on the biggest challenges and fight for solutions that will keep our schools, streets, churches and communities safe. Giffords is proud to endorse Kathleen Williams for Congress because she’s someone who will never stop working to make Montana’s communities safer.”
Kathleen Williams, a former state legislator, is a proud gun owner, but she’s running for Congress to do what’s best for Montana families, not corporate gun manufacturers. In the legislature, Kathleen courageously stood firm against attempts to weaken gun laws in Montana, which has one of the highest firearm death rates in the nation. In Congress, she will support closing loopholes that allow domestic abusers, stalkers, and other dangerous individuals to acquire firearms.
Kathleen’s opponent, Greg Gianforte, has been in Congress for little more than a year, but he’s already one of the House of Representative’s top beneficiaries of corporate gun lobby money. The NRA spent over $300,000 to help get Gianforte elected, and he’s returned the favor by supporting legislation to deregulate silencers, which would gut an existing, effective law that has been on the books for over 80 years. Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation, yet Gianforte has also refused to stand for commonsense measures that would help keep firearms out the hands of individuals in crisis.
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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