RELEASE: Giffords Endorses Tina Smith for Senate in Minnesota

August 17, 2018

The endorsement comes as part of the Giffords #VoteCourage Campaign to elect gun reform candidates nationwide

Washington, DC — Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Tina Smith for Senate in Minnesota.

Senator Tina Smith was appointed to the US Senate in December 2017 after serving as Minnesota’s lieutenant governor. During her short tenure in the Senate, Senator Smith has already supported legislation to expand background checks, prevent stalkers and abusive dating partners from possessing firearms, provide funding for the CDC to research gun violence, and ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump stocks.

Statement from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords:

“America experienced three of the deadliest mass shootings in modern history in just the past year. Over 38,000 people in our country were killed by a gun. Minnesota has not been immune to this deadly crisis: somebody is killed by a gun in Minnesota every 22 hours. Despite this devastating reality, the gun lobby has used its cash and influence to stifle any attempts to pass laws on Capitol Hill to make our schools, streets, and communities safer. “The Members of Congress we are endorsing today acknowledge the devastating toll of our nation’s gun violence crisis, and they are working to combat it. Their leadership will be critical for our next victories in Congress to save lives and prevent future tragedies. Giffords is proud to endorse Senator Tina Smith, who has the courage to stand up to the corporate gun lobby and who will never stop working to make Minnesota communities safer.”

Giffords’ #VoteCourage campaign aims to elect gun safety advocates to Congress and defeat 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.

Learn More about the Giffords 2018 political program here.

###