Giffords Law Center Executive Director Demands Swift Federal Action after Mass Shooting at a Workplace in San Jose, California

San Francisco, CA — After a workplace shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, California left at least 7 dead and more wounded, Giffords Law Center Executive Director Robyn Thomas demanded that national leaders take swift action to address the gun violence crisis. The shooting in California occured after a grim weekend of mass shootings that left at least 11 people dead and another 69 injured from incidents at homes, parks, and bars. Those tragedies took place across eight states: Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, and Minnesota, underscoring that gun violence is hurting people in every corner of the country.

Giffords Law Center Executive Director Robyn Thomas: 

“Workers at the Valley Transportation Authority woke up this morning and went to work, just like any other day. Some of them will never return home because of gun violence. Tragically, each day brings more heartbreak to families throughout America. This needs to end. We should all be angry at how commonplace gun violence has become in this country. This is an urgent crisis that requires immediate action. It is time for our national leaders to find the courage to act so that gun violence no longer leads to devastation on such a horrifying scale.” 

Giffords Law Center was founded after a workplace shooting that killed six people and injured eight more at a San Francisco law firm on July 1, 1993. For more than a quarter-century, elected officials, the media, and the public have looked to Giffords Law Center for policy expertise. The advocacy of the survivors and activists of 101 California Street fueled the fight to pass the 1994 federal assault weapons ban and helped cut California’s gun death rate in half over the next two decades. Giffords Law Center’s work has shaped the gun safety landscape of nearly every state in the nation—since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012, Giffords Law Center has helped pass over 400 gun safety laws in 46 states.