Giffords Florida Announces Sunshine State Bus Tour

Miami, FL — Today, Giffords Florida, a new political program dedicated to supporting candidates for local, state, and federal office in the Sunshine State, announced a Florida Bus Tour kicking off next week. Giffords Florida was recently launched by the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to support candidates with the courage to end gun violence. 

The Giffords Florida Bus Tour will begin on Thursday, September 8, and end on Tuesday, September 13. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords will make appearances at several stops on the bus tour, as well former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and a number of current elected officials, including Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Congressman Charlie Crist, US Senate Candidate Congresswoman Val Demings, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz, Rep. Deutch, Rep. Castor, and Rep. Frankel. The bus will make stops in different cities across the state, including in Miami, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and West Palm Beach. More details about each stop are available upon RSVP.  

Giffords Florida, which is Giffords’ first and only state-specific political initiative, is now the largest bilingual gun safety political program focused entirely on Florida. The bus tour is designed to educate voters in Florida about which candidates have the courage to fight gun violence and encourage Floridians to show up at the ballot box for gun safety candidates in 2022. Recent polling confirms that 85% of Florida residents support background checks on all gun sales and 69% are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports background checks.

Giffords Florida Senior Advisor former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell:

“Floridians and the Latino community overwhelmingly support commonsense reforms to prevent gun violence, and as such, we expect gun safety candidates in Florida to have an advantage in the midterm elections. Giffords Florida is launching this bus tour and investing more than $1 million in Florida to introduce voters to these candidates, hold anti-gun safety politicians accountable, and encourage voters to make their voices heard in November. I look forward to meeting Floridians across the Sunshine State during the bus tour and talking with them about how we can secure ‘un futuro sin violencia’.”  

Giffords Florida State Director Samantha Barrios:

“Giffords Florida is making a serious investment to turn out gun safety voters in the 2022 elections and beyond. We’re excited to kick off our first-ever bus tour, which will reach Floridians across the state. Floridians know the consequences of gun violence all too well, from high-profile tragedies at Pulse and Parkland to everyday violence that rarely makes the news. In fact, 85% of Latino and Hispanic communities in battleground states, including Florida, call gun violence either a crisis or a major issue. We’re grateful to have the support of local and national gun violence prevention leaders who will join us at stops throughout the bus tour. We are sending a clear message that politicians like Senator Rubio who refuse to support bipartisan, commonsense gun safety reforms will be held accountable.”  

Prior to the launch of Giffords Florida, Giffords had already built a strong foundation in the Sunshine State. In December 2021, Giffords hosted a Gun Violence Memorial at Bayfront Park in Miami and endorsed Val Demings for US Senate. Earlier this year, Giffords partnered with the Miami Heat on a campaign to end gun violence and Giffords Florida Senior Advisor Debbie Mucarsel-Powell worked alongside the families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas victims to call for gun safety reforms. 

In March, Giffords teamed up with Public Policy Polling on a survey which found that 69% of Floridians would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports background checks. In June, Giffords hosted a bilingual telephone town hall on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for Miami Dade County residents. Earlier this year, Giffords created a Spanish Language Hub as a way to connect with Spanish speakers interested in learning more about gun safety reform.

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