STATEMENT: Gabrielle Giffords Responds to 3 Workplace Shootings in 24 Hours
September 20, 2018. — Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of the gun violence prevention organization Giffords, issued the following statement reacting to the news that a gunman opened fire at the Rite Aid Distribution Center in Aberdeen, Maryland. The shooting in Maryland today follows two workplace shooting incidents reported just yesterday, including a shooting at an office building in Wisconsin and a shooting at a judge’s office in Pennsylvania.
“Three workplace active shooting attacks in just the last 24 hours should spark outrage in every American. Today, it was a drugstore distribution center in Maryland. Yesterday, a software firm in Wisconsin and a municipal building in Pennsylvania. No matter where you work, learn, play, or live – you have a right to feel safe, and I’m horrified that that’s no longer the reality in America.
“If gun violence feels like it’s become an everyday occurrence, that’s because it is. Every single day, nearly 100 lives are lost because of guns. But every time you hear news of another shooting, remind yourself that this level of gun violence is not normal. No other developed nation experiences this kind of daily heartbreak and horror.
“This is a problem we can solve, but first we need leaders ready to acknowledge the serious crisis this has become and determined to fight for solutions that will save lives. That’s why I’m doing everything in my power to help elect a new Congress with the courage to pass stronger gun laws and am urging every voter to stand with me. When we vote together, we will save lives.”
Background about Shootings at the Workplace:
- A 2005 study found that workplaces where guns were specifically permitted were five to seven times more likely to be the site of a worker homicide relative to those where all weapons were prohibited.
- In 2009, approximately 81% of workplace homicides were committed with a firearm.
- Shootings accounted for 79 percent of workplace homicides in 2016 (394 fatal shooting injuries).
Gun law and law enforcement experts are available for interviews tonight.To arrange a time to speak with an expert, email media@giffords.org.
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