Giffords Calls for More Gun Safety Action on 10-Year Anniversary of Oak Creek Shooting

Washington DC — Today Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, echoed President Biden’s call for more gun safety action on the 10-year anniversary of the shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, where a white supremacist opened fire on Sikh-Americans preparing for Sunday worship. Seven people died as a result of the shooting that day, and three were wounded.

“Ten years ago, a white supremacist opened fire on Sikh-Americans preparing to worship on a Sunday morning. Seven lives were taken too soon in an act of hate. We must do more to combat domestic terrorism and end gun violence, which means we must strengthen our nation’s gun laws. We’re grateful for President Biden’s statement this morning and we echo his calls on Congress to make our communities safer by combating domestic extremism and terrorism, fighting the scourge of white supremacy, and supporting stronger gun safety laws.”

In May, Giffords released an updated version of our report about how our country’s weak gun laws fuel armed hate. Though the vast majority of hate crimes do not involve firearms, data indicates that over 10,300 people are victims of hate crimes involving firearms per year. People who commit hate crimes, particularly those who commit violent hate crimes, are much more likely to commit repeat acts of violence. Despite this, people convicted of violent hate crime misdemeanors are still eligible to purchase firearms in 28 states. In addition to the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed earlier this year, Congress should also pass the Disarm Hate Act to prohibit people who have been convicted of a hate crime involving the use or threatened use of violence or a deadly weapon from accessing firearms.

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