A Year After El Paso & Dayton Shooting, Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Reflects on the Tragedies While Renewing Call to Elect Leaders who will Act

August 1, 2020 — A year after the El Paso & Dayton shootings, Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of the gun safety organization Giffords reflected on the tragedies and renewed her call to elect leaders who will act. Last August, after the nation was rocked by the mass shootings that happened less than 24 hours from each other, Congresswoman Giffords was one of the first to call for the Senate to come back immediately from August recess to vote on universal background checks.

Statement from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords:

“Last August our hearts broke for everyone in El Paso and Dayton. This year, the people who died in these senseless acts of violence live on in the memories and stories of their friends, family, and communities. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We need leaders who will deliver the stronger gun laws most Americans demand.

“Mitch McConnell and President Trump are not those leaders. They are willfully ignoring, and at times stoking, America’s gun violence crisis that is shattering lives and families each and every day, as a global pandemic rages on.

“Last August, I called on Trump and McConnell to bring the Senate back from recess and take the first step in addressing gun violence by passing universal background checks. They did nothing. They had the opportunity to create the change Americans desperately want to see, but they refused. Instead they gave in to the gun lobby’s intimidation and influence and ignored the voices of the American people.

“This November the American people have a chance to say enough and bring real change to Washington. Fueled by the memories of tragedies like El Paso, Dayton, and countless others, we are going to make history by electing a new group of leaders with the courage to act, creating a new, safer tomorrow for all of us.”