Giffords Endorses Slate of House Gun Safety Champions

June 3, 2022

Washington DC — Today,Giffords PAC, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced its endorsement of 16 gun safety champions running for reelection to the US House of Representatives. These members have worked tirelessly to spearhead legislation that would help control America’s epidemic of gun violence and address key issues like the need to expand background checks to all gun sales, combat high rates of suicide by firearm, incentivize states to pass extreme risk protection order laws, and crack down on the proliferation of untraceable ghost guns. With their leadership, the House has made historic strides in the fight for gun safety in recent years by securing the first dedicated funding to research gun violence in two decades and passing landmark legislation like the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:

“Recent tragedies like the shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have made it clear that we need strong leaders in Congress to fight for gun violence prevention day in and day out. It’s vitally important that we maintain the current House majority if we want to keep our children and families safe from senseless violence. The members we are endorsing today are unparalleled leaders in the fight to end gun violence and have always found the courage to act on this life-or-death issue. From fixing loopholes in our background check laws to working to pass legislation that would hold the gun lobby accountable, they have never stopped pushing to make our country a safer place. I am proud to work alongside each one of them to ensure that our schools, churches, and public spaces remain safe for all.”

The slate of endorsed candidates includes:

Julia Brownley (CA-26): Since she was first elected to Congress in 2012, Representative Julia Brownley has met with far too many constituents whose lives have been forever changed due to the deadly impacts of gun violence. Personally moved by the mass shootings at UC Santa Barbara and the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, Representative Brownley has been tireless in her work to bring an end to the gun violence epidemic plaguing our country. As a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, she works to advance policies like implementing universal background checks on all gun sales, fully funding community violence intervention programs, and preventing individuals who commit domestic abuse from obtaining weapons. She has also introduced the Gun Suicide Prevention Act, which would require firearm manufacturers and retailers to include warning labels that provide the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Salud Carbajal (CA-24): For Representative Salud Carbajal, preventing gun violence is a deeply personal issue. As a child, his sister used their father’s gun to take her own life, and in 2014, a gunman rocked his community by taking the lives of six individuals and injuring 14 others near the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Both events continue to shape Representative Carbajal’s legislative agenda today, and the largely avoidable nature of both inspired him to do everything possible to keep guns away from those exhibiting signs of instability. In Congress, Representative Carbajal has introduced the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, which would create federal grants to help incentivize states to implement extreme risk protection order laws – which give family members and law enforcement officials the ability to petition courts to remove firearms from those who pose a danger to themselves or others. He has also helped introduce commonsense legislation to get firearms out of the hands of individuals who have a history of hate-related violence and to reform harmful policing practices.

David Cicilline (RI-01): As mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Representative David Cicilline helped found the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, and in Congress, he now serves as Vice Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He has been the lead sponsor of some of the strongest gun violence prevention bills ever to be introduced, including the Assault Weapons Ban and the Untraceable Firearms Act. Representative Cicilline has led efforts to alert law enforcement when a prohibited purchaser obtains a firearm through a default sale, and he has penned several other bills to prevent gun dealers from converting their inventory to a “personal inventory” in order to avoid having to perform background checks on customers. Representative Cicilline has fought to enact extreme risk protection orders, adequately fund research into gun violence prevention strategies, and keep guns out of the hands of criminals. In 2016, he worked with members to organize the first ever member sit-in on the House floor to demand that Republican leadership bring gun safety measures to a vote in the wake of countless mass shootings.

Rosa DeLauro (CT-03): Representative Rosa DeLauro has tirelessly served the people of Connecticut’s 3rd District for over 30 years. In office, Representative DeLauro uses her influential position as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal discretionary spending, to advance key gun safety priorities. In 2019, she played a critical role in breaking through a gun lobby blockade to secure $25 million in federal funding for gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health for the first time in more than two decades. Representative DeLauro believes that Congress has a moral responsibility to enact universal background checks, keep guns out of the hands of individuals who commit domestic abuse, and hold gun manufacturers accountable for crimes committed with their weapons. In order to better succeed in getting these military-style guns off the street, she introduced the SAFER Streets Act, which would incentivize owners of assault weapons to turn in their weapons by offering a $2,000 tax credit for two years to an individual who voluntarily turns in their assault weapon to state police.

Lois Frankel (FL-22): Representative Lois Frankel is acutely aware of the devastating toll gun violence can have on a community, as her home state of Florida has borne the brunt of so much of this senseless carnage in recent years. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Representative Frankel has supported legislation to expand universal background checks, regulate the availability of assault weapons, impose limits on high capacity magazines, and repeal the ban on using federal funds to conduct gun violence research. She has also signed onto numerous bills that would ensure that individuals who have abused dating partners are prohibited from buying or owning firearms, and is also a proud supporter of the Protect Our Kids Act. Representative Frankel participated in a sit-in on the House floor demanding action on gun violence legislation after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, and after the tragic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018, she held local town halls on gun violence, met with student activists and survivors, and supported students walking out across the country to demand action on gun violence.

Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18): As a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and as the chairwoman for the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee has been heavily involved in efforts to pass legislation that would expand background checks to all gun sales, incentivize states to pass extreme risk protection orders, and disarm hate. In 2019 and 2021, she introduced the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act. Named for the youngest victim of the tragic mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, this legislation would mandate that all firearms and ammunition be safely stored in residences where a minor or an individual who is ineligible to possess a firearm is present. Representative Jackson Lee was also the lead author of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act in 2021, which prioritized efforts to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those who commit abuse.

Sara Jacobs (CA-51): At just 33 years old, Representative Sara Jacobs is part of a new generation of leaders in Washington that are determined to end America’s epidemic of gun violence once and for all. In her first term in office, Representative Jacobs worked to hold gun manufacturers and gun store owners accountable when their products are sold and used illegally. She also wasted no time in signing onto legislation that would help save lives—including bills to expand background checks to all gun sales, combat illegal gun trafficking, and allocate federal funding to study gun violence as a public health threat. Representative Jacobs supports extreme risk protection order laws and federal grants for community-based violence prevention programs, and she is a proud member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. As someone who recognizes the intrinsic link between gun violence and domestic violence, Representative Jacobs also voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Dan Kildee (MI-08): Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Representative Dan Kildee spent years working to strengthen the social and economic wellbeing of his community. In Congress, he has taken on the challenge of finding solutions to the many crises impacting families in mid-Michigan, including the deadly impacts of gun violence. Following the tragic 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Representative Kildee took immediate action to ban bump stocks by introducing the Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act. As Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, he has helped shepherd lifesaving measures like the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act through the House.

Seth Moulton (MA-06): Representative Seth Moulton came to Congress from the battlefield, and continues to serve his country by working to keep Americans safe from gun violence. As a member of the US Marine Corps, he carried an assault rifle every day as part of his job and knows just how powerful these weapons of war can be. In Congress, Representative Moulton has supported numerous bills to ban bump stocks, better enforce background check requirements, implement federal extreme risk protection order laws, and properly fund gun violence research. He is an original cosponsor of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would expand background checks to all gun sales and transfers, and has been an active member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Ayanna Pressley (MA-07): Representative Ayanna Pressley began an impressive career in public service as an at-large member of the Boston City Council before being elected to serve the people of Massachusetts’s 7th Congressional District in 2018. In Congress, Representative Pressley has been dedicated to advancing bold legislation to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing Massachusetts families, including addressing America’s epidemic of gun violence. She helped convene the first ever congressional hearings on childhood trauma with the late Representative Elijah Cummings, and specifically highlighted the significant impact gun violence can have on the mental health of America’s youth. In 2021, she proudly worked with Giffords to introduce the Ending Qualified Immunity Act to restore Americans’ ability to obtain recourse when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights.

Jamie Raskin (MD-08): Representative Jamie Raskin is one of the most prominent gun safety champions on Capitol Hill. As a state legislator in Maryland, he worked to introduce and pass one of the most comprehensive gun safety laws in the nation, which banned the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, required fingerprint licensing, instituted a universal violent criminal background check on all gun purchases, and made it a crime to fail to report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours. In Congress, he serves on the House Judiciary Committee and has introduced legislation to deter the transfer of firearms to dangerous individuals and to stop the transfer of assault-style weapons. He has also championed closing the private gun show and internet sales loopholes, banning the home manufacture of ghost guns, and imposing a mandatory process for individuals convicted of abuse to relinquish their firearms upon conviction.

Deborah Ross (NC-02): Representative Deborah Ross garnered a reputation as a strong gun safety advocate in the North Carolina House by supporting bills that would have required reporting on lost or stolen handguns and consistently voting against legislation that would have allowed concealed handguns in public spaces. In 2020, she became the first Democrat in over a decade to be elected to represent North Carolina’s 2nd District in Congress, where she now serves as a member of the House Judiciary Committee and has been a key partner in passing commonsense gun safety laws. She proudly cosponsored the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act, and she also supports legislation that would incentivize states to pass extreme risk protection order laws and mandate the safe storage of firearms in situations where children are present.

Mike Thompson (CA-04): Representative Mike Thompson has always put service to his country first, and he continues that mission today as a champion for gun safety legislation in Congress. Prior to his election to the House, he served his country in the Army, leading a platoon with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and receiving a Purple Heart for wounds he sustained in Vietnam. In Congress, Representative Thompson has served as Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force since its inception in 2012. He is also the lead author of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which is the most meaningful gun violence prevention legislation to pass the House in over 25 years. Representative Thompson has worked closely with the Biden administration to crack down on the proliferation of ghost guns and to increase funding for important community violence intervention programs. He is a lifelong hunter and responsible gun owner, and he knows that passing gun safety laws and protecting the constitutional rights of Americans can go hand in hand.

Dina Titus (NV-01): Currently in her sixth term in the US House, Representative Dina Titus has made public safety a top priority and has championed commonsense gun safety measures throughout her tenure. After the worst mass shooting in modern American history occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in 2017, Representative Titus emerged as one of the leading voices in the House calling for substantive action to reduce gun violence. She introduced the Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and she has consistently supported other measures to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. As a proud member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in the House, Representative Titus supports the implementation of more stringent background checks on gun sales and transfers, as well as the passage of stronger extreme risk protection laws.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25): Throughout her career, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz has built a strong record as a gun safety champion. She proudly worked to introduce the Ammunition Background Check Act, commonly referred to as Jaime’s Law, which would help stop illegal purchases of ammunition and was named in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, one of the 17 students and staff members who lost their lives in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Representative Wasserman Schultz also worked to introduce the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act in 2021, which would establish a federal definition for school shootings, create a framework for collecting and sharing data, and establish regular reporting requirements on these types of tragedies. Representative Wasserman Schultz has been a friend and ally to our founder, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, for years, and we know she will never stop fighting to protect the children and families she represents.

Nikema Williams (GA-05): Representative Nikema Williams has been a fierce advocate for social justice throughout her political and professional career, and she has proudly represented Georgia’s 5th District in Congress since 2021. As the former Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast and as the Deputy Political Director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Representative Williams has always centered the voices of those who are most marginalized in her work. As the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and as a former member of Georgia State Senate, she has consistently proven herself to be a fearless advocate for her community. Never backing down from a challenge, she has been a powerful gun safety champion in Congress. Representative Williams has helped pass legislation to expand background checks to all gun sales and to prevent those with a history of hate-fueled violence from obtaining a firearm. She has also cosponsored legislation to properly fund community violence intervention programs needed to break deadly cycles of violence and to crack down on the proliferation of untraceable ghost guns.

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