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Giffords Partnership with Top Presidential Candidates Unveils Latest Gun Safety President Video Demanding Background Check Vote   

 Latest video shows Democratic candidates united to require background check on every gun sale 

September 23, 2019 — In a new video calling for Congress to pass universal background checks, the top Democratic candidates for president continued the #GunSafetyPresident video series with Giffords , the gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The third video in the #GunSafetyPresident series features Democratic candidates detailing how the scale of the country’s gun violence crisis requires an urgent response—beginning with enacting a law to require a background check on every gun sale.

Despite the series of recent horrific shootings and daily gun violence, President Trump refuses to take action and Republicans in Congress continue to block a vote on HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. This new #GunSafetyPresident video highlights this failure to act and shows that these candidates wouldn’t be afraid to demand votes on stronger laws if elected president.

 Watch the video here 

The first two powerful videos in the series feature Democratic candidates making clear statements on gun violence: kids deserve to be safe at school and it’s time to take on corruption at the National Rifle Association. The series has resonated nationwide and been viewed over 7 million times. The campaign marks the beginning of an extensive effort by Giffords to elevate gun safety as a top voting issue in the primary and frame the general election as a referendum on gun safety.

Peter Ambler, Giffords Executive Director:

“In times of crisis, America needs leadership from the White House. Gun violence is such a crisis and we know that universal background checks are part of the solution. Americans are outraged at how no place seems safe from being the site of the next shooting and lockdown drills are now routine for our children. But President Trump would rather listen to the corporate gun lobby, not American voters. As he shrinks from this moment, these Democratic candidates make clear that we need to take action starting with HR 8, which requires a background check on every gun sale.”

This pioneering campaign is letting Americans hear more from the candidates on issues related to gun violence. On October 2, 2019, Giffords and March For Our Lives will host a presidential forum dedicated to addressing gun violence in America in Las Vegas, on the day after the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

Gun deaths in the United States have reached their highest level in almost 40 years, with nearly 40,000 Americans killed by a gun in 2017. The ripple effects of this crisis have been felt by communities across the country. The American public has been subjected to repeated mass shootings in schools and other civic spaces. Too often, communities of color disproportionately bear the continued impact and trauma of our nation’s gun violence epidemic.

Calls from voters to address gun violence in the Democratic primary continue to deepen.

  • A recently released CNN study finds 47% of voters rank gun policy as extremely important when choosing their presidential candidate. This is third only behind health care and the economy and is an increase of 21% since May 2007.
  • Following the 2018 midterms, NBC exit polling found that gun policy ranked as the #2 issue for Democratic voters, behind health care and ahead of the economy and immigration.
  • The 2018 midterms saw the highest participation of young voters aged 18–29 in the past 25 years, with gun violence and the fear of school shootings a top issue driving their decision to vote in 2018.
  • Democrats in the 2018 election ran and won back the House of Representatives in part because of their focus on robust gun violence prevention platforms, which included a 22-fold increase from the last midterms in the number of ad spots promoting safer gun laws.

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