GIFFORDS responds to Trump’s address to joint session of Congress

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, on Tuesday released the following statement after President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.

“President Trump failed to mention a single action he’ll take to stop the number one killer of children and teens in this country— gun violence. He is perfectly content to let daily crime continue as long as gun industry CEOs keep getting richer,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown. “President Trump loves to talk about law and order, but has done nothing to support public safety and law enforcement. He talked tonight about supporting police officers—mere weeks after pardoning the January 6th rioters responsible for the deaths of Capitol Police. If the president was serious, he would put forth commonsense gun safety measures that would keep guns out of the wrong hands, and he would keep federal law enforcement strong. 

“From planning to weaken our nation’s gun laws, to appointing extreme leaders like Kash Patel, our president is telling us how little he values American lives. He’s been in office for less than two months, and he’s already making America more dangerous,” Brown concluded.

Since President Trump has taken office, he has gutted the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention; appointed Kash Patel, who is aligned with fringe gun rights groups, to head both the FBI and the ATF; and signed an executive order poised to undo years of gun safety progress. Gun homicides increased by a staggering 34% during his first term in office.