Giffords PAC Endorses Candidates for Attorney General
Washington DC — Today, Giffords PAC, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced its endorsements of Andrea Campbell for Massachusetts attorney general, Peter Neronha for reelection in Rhode Island, and William Tong for reelection in Connecticut. This comes in the aftermath of the dangerous Supreme Court decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen which put these states’ concealed permitting laws at risk. This decision dangerously elevated the Second Amendment above other important and constitutionally-protected rights and opens the doors to more guns in public spaces – thereby endangering the lives of millions of Americans.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:
“With gun violence spiking to record levels across the country and courts issuing dangerous decisions challenging longstanding gun safety laws, the need to elect attorneys general who are determined to bolster public safety has become more urgent than ever. Too many communities across the United States continue to endure senseless tragedies and families from coast to coast are being ripped apart by gun violence every day. Attorneys general play a critical role in defending gun safety laws and will be at the front lines of the fight to reduce crime in the years to come. The candidates we are endorsing have a record of achieving real results, and we know they’ll work hand in hand with law enforcement officers and community partners to save lives. Giffords is proud to stand with these champions.”
The slate of endorsed candidates includes:
- Peter Neronha (D-RI): Attorney General Peter Neronha has spent his career working to make the state safer for all Rhode Islanders. After nearly 30 years of serving as a state and federal prosecutor, he was elected to serve as attorney general in 2018. In this capacity, Attorney General Neronha has taken a proactive approach to deal with gun violence. In 2021, he created a Violent Crime Task Force to target illegal firearms and perpetrators of violence in Rhode Island communities. Over the past four years, he has worked with the general assembly and gun violence prevention advocates to successfully pass laws that keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people, such as a ban on ghost guns and a prohibition on straw purchasing. Attorney General Neronha has also advocated for laws banning concealed carry in schools and the open carry of rifles and shotguns as well as raising the age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.
- William Tong (D-CT): Throughout his career, Attorney General William Tong has been an unmatched leader in the fight to end gun violence. In the state assembly, Attorney General Tong drafted and passed some of the nation’s strongest gun violence prevention laws in the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School – which included updating his state’s assault weapons ban and enacting universal background checks across Connecticut. As co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, he also led efforts to ban bump stocks, take guns out of the hands of those who commit domestic abuse, and regulate ghost guns. As attorney general, he has defended commonsense gun violence prevention measures, including state bans on large-capacity magazines and limitations on the ability of individuals to carry firearms in public. In recent years, he has joined amicus briefs in every significant case where gun laws have been challenged– even pushing back on the Trump administration’s dangerous attempt to enable the distribution of 3D-printed ghost gun blueprints. Attorney General Tong knows that in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, Connecticut will soon see a wave of litigation—coordinated by out-of-state extremists—aimed at rolling back Connecticut’s post-Sandy Hook laws. He has vowed to vigorously defend these lifesaving public safety policies against any and every one of these baseless pursuits.
- Andrea Campbell (D-MA): Andrea Campbell has dedicated her life to fighting for greater equity and opportunity for all. Like too many others, her childhood was filled with incredible instability and cycles of loss. She knows the devastation gun violence can have on our families, our communities, and our future because she has experienced it firsthand. On the Boston City Council, Campbell worked across the aisle to increase state funding for improved community policing. She also created a youth development fund to bolster community violence intervention organizations and established a project to revitalize vacant parcels of land for –which are often hot spots for criminal activity–community purposes. As part of her campaign for attorney general, Campbell has released a comprehensive gun violence prevention plan which includes establishing an Office of Gun Safety Enforcement, bolstering gun safety training requirements for gun owners and prospective gun owners and cracking down on ghost guns. As the gun lobby continues to attack gun safety legislation in the courts, Campbell will do whatever it takes to fight back against any efforts to undermine or eliminate the laws that keep the public safe.
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