Giffords Endorses Dr. Barbara Bollier for Senate in Kansas
April 16, 2020 — Giffords , the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, endorsed Barbara Bollier for Senate in Kansas. Bollier’s race is an opportunity to elect a gun safety champion to fill the seat previously held by retiring Sen. Pat Roberts. In 2018, Giffords was central to the effort to bring a majority committed to action on gun safety to the House of Representatives. These endorsements are part of a push to make the same change in the Senate in 2020.
Statement from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords:
“The Senate won’t change its priorities until we change its leadership. Americans are fed up with politicians in Washington who respond to the tragedy of gun violence by taking dollars and directions from the gun lobby. We need leaders who have the courage to put the safety of our kids and communities ahead of the NRA’s political agenda. This year, if we come together, we have the power to elect champions who will bring gun safety to the United States Senate.
“Dr. Barbara Bollier knows what it means to be a gun safety champion. She understands that owning a gun comes with responsibilities and we can protect that right while keeping firearms out of the wrong hands. The time for inaction is over. The time to raise our voices is now. It’s time to elect leaders like Barbara Bollier to fight for an America where gun violence no longer plagues families and communities.”
Dr. Barbara Bollier is a career public servant, using her dual roles as a doctor and state legislator to fight for her fellow Kansans. Dr. Bollier served as a Kansas state representative from 2010 to 2017, and has served in the state senate for the last three years. Throughout her career, she has advocated for gun safety legislation, including extreme risk protection orders and universal background checks.
Dr. Bollier got into politics after a career as a medical doctor, following in the footsteps of her mother, a nurse, and her father, also a doctor. She knows firsthand that gun violence is a public health issue that will require courageous leadership to solve. She also knows that solutions will come from the American people in Kansas and in states across the country—not from deep-pocketed donors like NRA leadership and lobbyists. Dr. Bollier has been a gun safety champion in the Kansas legislature, and she will continue to champion gun safety when she is elected to the US Senate this fall.
“As a doctor, I directly witnessed the impact of gun violence,” said Dr. Barbara Bollier. “I lost patients to gun violence. This is a public health issue, and our elected officials must do more to protect Kansas families. Ending the crisis of gun violence in our country should not be a partisan debate, and I am proud to stand with Gabby Giffords and support commonsense solutions that will address gun violence.”
The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a number of gaps in our federal gun laws that will require federal action in the near future. Issues such as safe storage, loopholes that leave domestic violence survivors vulnerable to abuse, and a strain on our federal background checks system have all been magnified during the coronavirus outbreak. Electing gun safety champions to the Senate will ensure that Congress actually addresses these dangerous gaps.
About Giffords 2020 Political Efforts:
Barbara Bollier approaches gun safety legislation with the seriousness and urgency needed to solve our country’s gun violence epidemic. In contrast, the majority in the Senate has stalled and obstructed any and all gun safety bills sent to them by the House. That’s why Giffords invested nearly $750,000 in ads calling out Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) for failing to support H.R. 8 last year.
Giffords is also leading the effort to make this the year the country elects a #GunSafetyPresident. Congresswoman Giffords, recently announced her endorsement and the endorsement of Giffords PAC of Joe Biden for president of the United States of America. Vice President Biden has fought for stronger gun safety laws throughout his career and has promised it will be a top priority for his administration.
Congresswoman Giffords and Vice President Biden have a long history of working together to advance commonsense gun safety laws, especially in the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Biden was there to welcome Congresswoman Giffords back to the Capitol months after she was shot and then again at President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
Recently released polling showed that the issue of gun safety is becoming a major factor for voters, and one that is critical to winning elections in these areas of the country. Fifty-nine percent of suburban women in the swing states of Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas support stronger gun laws and say this issue is “very important” to their vote. An even larger group (64%) says that they would never vote for a candidate who didn’t support “requiring background checks on all gun sales,” outranking 13 other social and economic policy positions as the top voting determinant. Responses like these underscore that suburban women increasingly want a leader committed to gun safety.