Giffords, G-PAC Endorse J.B. Pritzker for Governor and Juliana Stratton for Lieutenant Governor in Illinois
The endorsement comes as part of the Giffords #VoteCourage Campaign to elect gun reform candidates nationwide
October 18, 2018— Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, and G-PAC, a political action committee working to elect candidates in Illinois committed to protecting communities from gun violence, announced their endorsement of J.B. Pritzker for Illinois governor and Juliana Stratton for lieutenant governor.
J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton have promised to be champions for gun violence prevention in Illinois. They will fight to curb the illegal trafficking of firearms within Illinois by signing an important gun dealer licensing bill vetoed by Governor Rauner. J.B. and Juliana understand that gun violence is a public health crisis. They will empower the Illinois Department of Public Health to treat gun violence as a public health epidemic and will focus their administration on prevention and intervention by investing in community programs that interrupt violence and encourage non-violence conflict resolution.
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 in 2016. Illinois has not been immune to this deadly crisis—somebody is killed by a gun in the state every seven hours. Both J.B. and Juliana understand the toll this epidemic takes on Illinois communities.
“We are endorsing J.B. and Juliana today because they acknowledge the heartbreak gun violence causes in their state, and they are working to stop it. Their leadership will be critical for our next victories in Illinois to prevent future tragedies. Giffords is proud to back J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton, who have the courage to stand up to the corporate gun lobby.”
Statement from Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of GPAC:
“J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton have a proven record of standing up to the gun lobby and fighting for measures that will protect children, families and law enforcement from illegal guns. GPAC is proud to endorse their candidacies for Governor and Lt. Governor because their leadership will ensure that the people of Illinois will be safer and more protected from gun violence.
“J.B. and Juliana will also be a drastic improvement over the current governor who refuses to sign into law basic, common sense, bipartisan legislation that would protect our communities from criminals getting access to guns.”
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