NEW VIDEOS: Giffords Partnership with Top Presidential Candidates Unveils New Gun Safety President Video Taking on NRA Corruption
Latest video makes clear that democratic candidates will break NRA blockade that has prevented stronger gun laws from passing for decades
The launch of the inaugural video caused a national sensation and was viewed over 5 million times
September 16, 2019 — In a new video taking on the NRA, 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 second video in the #GunSafetyPresident series features Democrat candidates standing up to corruption by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that blocks progress in addressing the crisis of gun violence.
Despite the series of recent horrific shootings and daily violence, President Trump refuses to take action and Republicans in Congress continue to block reforms – siding with the NRA and the corporate gun lobby. This new #GunSafetyPresident video highlights the NRA’s harmful impact on our gun safety laws, amplified by recent news of an organization in disarray due to power grabs and self-dealing.
This first video in the series made a clear statement—kids deserve to be safe at school and America deserves a #GunSafetyPresident. Both videos are part of a six-figure buy that puts them in front of key voters. The launch of the inaugural video caused a national sensation and was viewed over 5 million times. The series marks the beginning of an extensive effort by Giffords to elevate gun safety as a voting issue in the primary and frame the general election as a referendum on gun safety.
Peter Ambler, Giffords Executive Director:
“The NRA was once an organization for gun owners; it’s now an organization for gun dealers. The American people are tired of their corrupt control of Republicans in Washington. Trump and Republicans in Congress are more loyal to NRA lobbyists than they are to the Americans they’re sworn to keep safe. They’re more responsive to NRA campaign contributions than they are to children doing lockdown drills. The Democratic candidates for President have the courage to take on the NRA. They’re ready to meet the twin threats of gun violence and political corruption with the courage of their convictions.”
This pioneering campaign is letting Americans hear more from the candidates on the major issues and themes on 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 anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in 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 percent 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 percent 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.