GIFFORDS PAC endorses Josh Shapiro for governor of Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS PAC, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement endorsing Governor Josh Shapiro as he runs for reelection in Pennsylvania.

“Governor Josh Shapiro has been a strong champion for Pennsylvania families when it comes to confronting gun violence. From his time as attorney general, when he worked with local law enforcement to tackle the spread of ghost guns, to his work as governor, when he reestablished the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and secured funding for community violence intervention, Governor Shapiro has consistently fought to keep Pennsylvanians safe. Since he took office, gun violence in the Keystone State is down, gun deaths are down and violent crime is down. GIFFORDS is proud to endorse Governor Shapiro’s reelection, and I know that with his continued leadership, Pennsylvania will be a safer place for all,” said Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. 

“I believe all Pennsylvanians deserve to be safe and feel safe in their communities – and I know that by investing in and protecting public safety, we can prevent gun violence and build a safer future for our kids. As Attorney General, I worked with law enforcement and local leaders to take illegal guns off our streets, shut down gun trafficking rings, and crack down on ghost guns. As Governor, we’ve built on that progress with a comprehensive, coordinated approach to public safety — investing in state and local law enforcement and supporting critical violence prevention programs – and as a result, violent crime is down 12% and fatal gun violence is down 42% across our Commonwealth. I’m grateful for Gabby Giffords’ courage and friendship – and I am proud to have this endorsement as we work to win and keep investing in and advancing commonsense solutions to address gun violence and make communities across our Commonwealth and our country safer,” said Governor Josh Shapiro.

Throughout his career — from his time in the state legislature and as a Montgomery County commissioner to serving as Pennsylvania’s attorney general and now leading the Keystone State — Governor Josh Shapiro has been a tireless fighter for children and families, especially on issues relating to public safety.

During his time as attorney general, Governor Shapiro partnered with local law enforcement to take thousands of illegal guns off the street, fought to close the ghost gun loophole and launched initiatives to go after gun trafficking and illegal transfers. Now, as Pennsylvania’s chief executive, Governor Shapiro has been working to build on this progress by employing a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to address gun violence across the commonwealth. 

To jumpstart this work, Governor Shapiro has publicly called on state legislators to pass bipartisan priorities such as universal background checks. Under his administration, Governor Shapiro has also worked to ensure that community violence intervention programs and law enforcement have both received significant levels of funding. In fact, because of his leadership, more than $880 million has been allocated for 6,000 grants to be fulfilled through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to address and prevent violence in our communities. He’s also authorized an additional $20.56 million for other violence intervention and prevention programs — including $11.5 million for the Building Opportunity Through Out of School Time (BOOST) program — as well as funding for nearly 2,000 more law enforcement officers across the state.