NEW DIRECT MAIL: Giffords PAC Calls Rick Scott the “NRA’s Favorite Politician” as Voters Head to Polls Tuesday

 Giffords PAC , the gun safety organization founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Capt. Mark Kelly, launched a new $600,000 direct mail campaign highlighting Governor Rick Scott’s record of consistently signing dangerous, NRA-backed legislation into law. In the final few days of the 2018 midterm election cycle, the two mail pieces drive home Scott’s abysmal record on gun safety, despite Florida experiencing numerous mass shootings under his leadership.

As the two mail pieces lay out, Governor Rick Scott – who is challenging Senator Bill Nelson in this year’s election – has signed more NRA-supported laws than any other governor in Florida’s history. Even after the tragedy at Pulse nightclub in 2016, in which 49 people died, Scott refused to pass any gun safety bills, taking $2 million in political contributions from the NRA while in office.

 Senator Bill Nelson , on the other hand, has been a strong champion for gun violence prevention, supporting legislation to enact universal background checks, require all firearms to be traceable by law enforcement, ban assault weapons and bump stocks, and prevent domestic abusers and stalkers from possessing firearms. He has also introduced legislation to prevent downloadable guns from being posted online.

The two mail pieces can be viewed  here  and  here .

In the wake of the Parkland shooting earlier this year, Giffords released  a six-figure television ad  calling out Florida Governor Rick Scott for repeatedly siding with the gun lobby over public safety. The ad highlighted that Governor Scott had signed a bill into law that levied penalties against doctors for discussing gun safety with patients – a law that was later  struck down  by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, citing physicians’ right to speak freely with patients about gun safety as critical to providing good healthcare.

Gun safety continues to be a key issue for voters deciding who to elect this November. This year the issue has surged in campaign ads. 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. Recent research proves why we are seeing more ads –  a poll in key battleground districts , shows that a Democrat’s lead in a generic ballot jumps 7 points, from 3 points to 10 when gun violence prevention is added.

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