Gabrielle Giffords & Capt. Mark Kelly Announce Tour to Visit College Campuses and Communities in Battleground States during Countdown to Election Day

September 28, 2018

“Vote Save Lives” Tour Will Call on Voters to Elect Candidates Ready to Save Lives from Gun Violence

September 28, 2018 – With fewer than 40 days to go until Election Day, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Capt. Mark Kelly announced today that they will be hitting the campaign trail for their final swing, traveling to college campus and communities to support candidates running on gun safety platforms in battleground districts across the nation. As part of their “ Vote Save Lives ” tour, Gabby and Mark will join student activists, gun violence survivors, and community leaders for community conversations, get-out-the-vote efforts, and other events geared towards sparking conversations about gun safety and the importance of voting.

“We’re launching this tour as part of our commitment to do everything we can to amplify the voices of young people, gun violence survivors, and other frustrated Americans angry at Congress for doing nothing even as shootings have continued,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords. “In just the last year, America experienced three of the deadliest mass shootings in recent American history and the gun death rate skyrocketed to a level we haven’t experienced in decades. Despite that grim reality, Congress has done nothing to protect our children and make our communities safer. We’re now living in an America where a majority of our kids fear an active shooter targeting their classroom. But we’re also living in an America where the majority of voters are demanding stronger gun laws. This November, they’ll have the opportunity to make sure their demands are heard loud and clear when they head to the ballot box.”

The Vote Save Lives tour will kick off on October 2 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, one day after the anniversary of the Las Vegas massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. While in Las Vegas, Gabby and Mark will host a roundtable discussion with gun violence survivors, students, and community members. Following the roundtable, Gabby and Mark will join student organizers and NextGen America President Tom Steyer for a canvass kickoff event on campus. The canvass event is part of the Our Lives Our Vote program, a joint effort between Giffords, NextGen, Everytown for Gun Safety, and ACRONYM to register 50,000 high school-aged students for the midterm elections.

From there, Gabby and Mark will travel to Irvine, California on October 13 and 14, Seattle, Washington on October 18, and Portland, Oregon on October 19. At each stop of the tour, Gabby and Mark will join student activists, community advocates, and gun violence survivors for community conversations, get-out-the-vote efforts, and other events geared towards sparking much-needed conversations about gun safety and the importance of voting. On October 24, Giffords will team up with March For Our Lives to host an event at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two groups will also partner on an event in Houston, Texas on November 2, just four days before Election Day.

** Additional events may be announced following the launch of the tour.

Strengthening gun laws has become a defining issue of this year’s midterm elections. It’s no mystery why. After three of the worst mass shootings in American history happened in just five months and the NRA continued to resist even the most commonsense reform of our gun laws, suburban voters began demanding change. The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, inspired the single largest moment of youth civic engagement since the Civil Rights movement. Throughout 2018, student activists and voters have voiced their frustration with leaders who choose to accept NRA contributions and vote to make the situation worse, rather than taking action to keep our kids and communities safe.

This activism has led to a number of important milestones and powerful moments, from the March For Our Lives, to school walkouts, to protests at town halls across the country. Polls continue to show that voters are making gun safety a top issue this election—second only to health care, particularly in suburban swing districts. There’s also been an unprecedented surge in campaign ads promoting gun reform as Americans demand to know how candidates will address this pressing problem. According to a recent analysis, ads promoting stricter gun regulations have aired 102,636 times across the country this year— a 22-fold increase from four years ago , according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Kantar Media/CMAG data.

Background on the States and Districts We’re Visiting

Las Vegas, Nevada: Keeping Nevada’s 3rd and 4th districts in the hands of gun violence prevention champions is critical this election season. Susie Lee and Steve Horsford are running to keep seats currently held by members who have proven gun safety records in Congress. Gun safety advocate Congresswoman Jacky Rosen is running for the US Senate against NRA-backed Senator Dean Heller. Lee, Rosen, and Horsford all support important efforts like passing laws to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and closing loopholes in our background check system. In Nevada’s gubernatorial race, Commissioner Steve Sisolak is running against Adam Laxalt, who is single-handedly trying to stop the state’s new background check ballot initiative from being run effectively.
Irvine, California: In the fight to elect a gun safety majority to Congress, Southern California is one of the most important regions in the country. There is a strong possibility that five gun lobby backed Republicans will be replaced with gun safety champions in the region. Katie Porter , a professor at the UC-Irvine School of Law, is running in California’s 45th District against gun lobby champion Congresswoman Mimi Walters. In California’s 39th District, Navy veteran Gil Cisneros is contesting an open seat vacated by long-time NRA supporter Ed Royce. Captain Kelly recently campaigned with Cisneros as part of the Giffords Veteran Tour. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who recently spoke out in favor of potentially arming school children, is facing his toughest challenge in years in California’s 48th District from gun safety champion Harley Rouda. In California’s 49th District, environmental lawyer Mike Levin is making gun violence prevention a central part of his campaign as he fights to fill the seat currently held by the retiring Rep. Darrell Issa. And in the 25th District, Katie Hill is challenging incumbent Republican Steve Knight, who was recently caught in a lie after claiming he would not accept NRA contributions before doing exactly that.
Washington: In Seattle, Mark and Gabby will stand up in support of Initiative 1639, the most comprehensive gun safety initiative ever put forward in Washington State. The initiative will establish an enhanced background check system to purchase semi-automatic weapons, raise the minimum age to 21 to purchase these weapons, and incentivize secure storage practices. Congressman Adam Smith is running to return to Congress to continue to be a gun safety champion. Congressman Smith is the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and is committed to taking action to save lives from gun violence. He is a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to expand background checks and close dangerous loopholes. He also voted against the gun lobby’s concealed carry reciprocity legislation last year. With his words and his actions, Congressman Smith has shown that he stands with the people of his district who are calling for stronger gun laws.
Portland, Oregon: Governor Kate Brown is running an impressive campaign against Representative Knute Buehler, who received an A rating from the NRA. Kate Brown has been a steadfast champion for safer gun laws, and has vowed to do whatever she can to help make Oregon communities safer. Under Kate’s leadership, Oregon became one of only eight states to require background checks on all gun sales. In the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, Kate took action when Congress wouldn’t, signing an executive action to strengthen law enforcement efforts to help track down dangerous weapons. Kate also signed an extreme risk protection order into law, giving Oregon families and law enforcement a tool to help keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a risk to themselves or others. And after the Parkland shooting, Kate led Oregon to pass legislation that prohibits convicted stalkers and domestic abusers from buying and possessing guns. When it comes to the safety of Oregon, Kate puts words into action to save lives from gun violence.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: In Minnesota’s 2nd District, Angie Craig is running to defeat Congressman Jason Lewis, an incumbent with an A rating from the NRA who was once referred as “Minnesota’s Greatest Proponent of Anything-Goes Gun Laws.” In Minnesota’s 3rd District, Dean Phillips is running a strong campaign against Congressman Erik Paulsen, who has been a long-time barrier to congressional efforts to save lives from gun violence. Senator Tina Smith is also up for a full term this November in Minnesota. During her short tenure in the Washington, Senator Smith has already emerged as an important leader in the fight for common sense gun laws, supporting legislation to expand background checks, prevent stalkers and abusive dating partners from possessing firearms, and provide funding for the CDC to research gun violence.
Houston, Texas: Gun safety champion Lizzie Pannill-Fletcher is challenging Congressman John Culberson, who has accepted more than $75,000 in campaign contributions from the gun lobby, in the Texas 7th District. Even in the wake of the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Culberson voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill that was opposed by law enforcement, including Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Voters in Texas will also have the opportunity to elect Congressman Beto O’Rourke this November, who has generated significant national interest in his campaign to unseat one of the gun lobby’s top allies in Washington, Senator Ted Cruz. In a recent debate, O’Rourke proclaimed his support for universal background checks despite Cruz’s futile attempts to paint him as an extremist on an issue that the vast majority of Americans agree on.

Background on the Giffords 2018 Political Program

Giffords initially began our political program this year in the hours after the Parkland shooting, when Giffords used #VoteCourage to get people to pledge to support candidates in November who will stand up to the gun lobby and fight for safer communities. In less than a week, more than 450,000 Americans took the pledge.

Following the #VoteCourage pledge, Giffords officially kicked off its robust political program to shine a light on incumbents’ records of prioritizing the interests of the gun industry over public safety and encourage voters to support candidates with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby. Along with the digital advertisements and the website database, the program includes TV advertising, on-the-ground organizing and events, and a voter registration push.

In April, Giffords launched a partnership with NextGen America, Everytown for Gun Safety, and ACRONYM focused around a voter registration effort that is committing an initial $1.5 million to try to get up to 50,000 Americans aged 18–19 registered for the midterm elections.

Giffords also expanded its candidate training program to help educate candidates who want to run on a gun safety platform.

Giffords PAC has already launched three million dollar ad campaigns in districts critical to taking back the House of Representatives. The campaigns started with an investment of a $1 million in VA-10 to defeat Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, whose district is the backyard of the NRA headquarters. The first ad featured Gabby Giffords herself, directly taking on the NRA and Comstock. This week, Giffords PAC also went up with a $1.3 million ad campaign in the Minneapolis media market highlighting how Congressman Jason Lewis has consistently sided with the gun lobby over his constituents.

Finally, it launched a nearly $1.5 million ad campaign in Colorado underscoring the choice Colorado voters have before them this election when it comes to gun safety. In a new ad that debuted on Monday, the organization broadcast every American parents’ worst nightmare—losing a child—onto their TV screens, and reminded them that NRA-backed politicians like Congressman Mike Coffman haven’t done anything to prevent this nightmare from becoming reality.

The mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, crystallized the country’s frustration with the lack of action to pass gun safety laws. 2016 saw the highest gun death rate since 1997. 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.

Last November saw gun safety champions win decisively across the country – from statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey to a key state senate seat in Washington State. The elections sparked what has become known as the suburban rebellion in the districts that will determine who will have control of Congress next year.

A recent public opinion survey released by Giffords also shows that gun safety is a winning issue in districts key to determining control of the House of Representatives. The poll looked into 38 battleground districts that are largely Republican-held. The results proved that embracing gun safety could make thedifference for Democrats in key swing districts, particularly because support for stronger gun laws remains high and the NRA’s favorability is on a downward trend.

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