Giffords PAC Endorses Nan Whaley for Governor of Ohio
Washington DC — Today, Giffords PAC, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced its endorsement of Nan Whaley for Governor of Ohio.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:
“Mayor Whaley has long been a courageous leader and supporter of gun violence prevention–which was made especially clear when she stood up to the gun lobby and used her voice to call for action after the 2019 mass shooting in her city of Dayton. Ohioans don’t deserve to face the devastating consequences of another mass shooting or the everyday gun violence that disproportionately harms communities of color. Mayor Whaley supports commonsense solutions like universal background checks and extreme risk protection order laws, which are broadly popular and will undoubtedly save lives. The passage of these laws would be extremely important in ensuring the wellbeing and safety of all Ohioans. I am proud to stand behind Mayor Whaley, who I know will be a critical voice in the fight to end gun violence as Ohio’s governor.”
Mayor Nan Whaley:
“When my city experienced a horrific mass shooting in 2019, Governor DeWine and I both made promises to the people of Dayton that we would do something to help prevent this type of tragedy from happening again. Governor DeWine broke that promise. I’ll never cave to extremists or special interest campaign donors on keeping Ohio’s communities safe. I’m honored to have the endorsement of the Giffords PAC in our fight to reduce gun violence across Ohio.”
Leading Dayton through some of its biggest crises has prepared Mayor Nan Whaley to confront everything that’s wrong in Columbus and build a better Ohio for all. Now, she is running for governor to expand the scope of her work and to implement commonsense solutions that will keep Ohioans safe from the pain of the gun violence epidemic from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Unfortunately, Mayor Whaley knows the devastating impacts of gun violence all too well. As the mayor of Dayton, she led her city through the aftermath of a senseless mass shooting in which nine people were killed. Since then, she has dedicated her life to preventing other communities from feeling such immeasurable sorrow.
Following the shooting, Dayton residents held a vigil in which thousands of people chanted “Do something,” in an effort to compel legislative action to address the scourge of gun violence. Mayor Whaley vowed to listen to them—and she intends to keep that promise as governor. In 2019, she put partisanship aside and stood with Governor Mike DeWine when he proposed expanding background checks and other commonsense measures to address gun violence. However, Governor DeWine caved to the extremists in his party and his gun lobby donors, and instead chose to sign laws that were opposed by law enforcement – all of which make our communities less safe. Unlike him, Mayor Whaley won’t abandon the promise she made to Daytonians three years ago and will do all she can to pass lifesaving legislation.
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