Giffords Endorses Governor Kathy Hochul and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado
Washington DC — Today, Giffords PAC, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced its endorsement of New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado for reelection.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:
“New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, but more than 1,000 New Yorkers still died at the hands of a gun in 2020—and in May, we saw 10 innocent lives taken too soon in an act of senseless hate in Buffalo. Governor Hochul and Lt. Governor Delgado have shown great leadership in office, and in the face of tragedy, they acted immediately to strengthen their state’s gun laws. In June, when the radical Supreme Court decided to overturn New York’s 100-year-old concealed carry law, they once again led the charge to pass new legislation to counter the decision and protect New Yorkers from gun violence. It is imperative that we send Governor Hochul and Lt. Governor Delgado back to Albany this November, and Giffords is proud to endorse these two gun safety champions today.”
Governor Kathy Hochul
“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority. I am proud of the nation-leading action we’ve taken to combat gun violence and keep dangerous weapons off our streets. I am humbled to receive this endorsement from Giffords and look forward to working together to push for stronger gun safety laws nationwide.”
Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado.
“We don’t have to accept gun violence as a part of life in this country — we can pass common sense laws that make our neighborhoods safer and protect our loved ones. Governor Hochul and I are humbled to receive this endorsement and committed to fighting back against the gun violence epidemic, building a new day for our state.”
Governor Kathy Hochul has made New York a national leader on commonsense gun safety laws. Since taking office, she has enacted landmark legislation to curb the rise of gun violence and crime. Early in her term, Governor Hochul signed legislation to ban unregulated “ghost guns” and convened public officials from nine Northeastern states to interdict illegal gun trafficking in the Northeast. In the wake of a horrific mass shooting in her hometown of Buffalo, she took immediate action, working with legislators to pass and sign into law a package of gun violence prevention policies that included expanding New York’s red flag law, strengthening gun reporting protocols, closing regulatory loopholes, and raising the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21 years old.
When the Supreme Court overturned New York’s concealed carry law that had been on the books for more than 100 years, Governor Hochul responded with reasonable and legal restrictions on concealed carry permits, such as expanding eligibility requirements in the permitting process, allowing the state to regulate and standardize required training courses for license applicants, and restricting the carrying of concealed weapons in sensitive locations.
Throughout his career in public service, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado has been committed to the fight against gun violence. In 2018, he flipped a key swing district from red to blue and represented New York’s 19th Congressional District in the US House for three and a half years before being named as lieutenant governor of New York. While in Congress, Lieutenant Governor Delgado was a fierce advocate for gun safety reforms – sponsoring bills to require background checks for private transfers and to close dangerous background check loopholes. As lieutenant governor, he has helped to make New York a national leader on commonsense gun safety legislation, working in partnership with Governor Hochul to strengthen New York’s gun safety laws and keep New Yorkers safe from senseless senesless violence. Their administration is expanding New York’s red flag laws, strengthening gun reporting protocols, closing loopholes in existing law, and raising the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21 years old.
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