Received this e-mail today from former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D. AZ) in support of former Governor Ted Strickland’s (D. OH) U.S. Senate campaign:
Most people will never know what it feels like to get shot point-blank in the head by a would-be assassin. They won’t know what it feels like to survive a shooting that killed six others, including a 9-year-old girl.
But most people know that it’s past time for Congress to pass commonsense legislation that will make our communities safer from gun violence. They know it’s time for the pain and the loss that afflicts too many families to end.
So after what happened to me in Tucson, Americans called on Congress to pass gun safety reforms -- and they did nothing.
After Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista, San Bernardino, Navy Yard, Roseburg, Charleston, and the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history this summer in Orlando, Congress has done the unthinkable:
Nothing at all.
Following the shooting in Orlando, Senate Republicans once again voted in lockstep with the gun lobby and blocked three pieces of commonsense gun violence prevention legislation. And Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, the man who has received more outside spending from the gun lobby to support his candidacy than any other U.S. Senator, was among those who voted against these critical measures.
If Senator Portman refuses to put the safety of our communities ahead of the interests of the gun lobby, then it’s up to us to replace him with someone who will. And that’s why I want to ask you directly:
Believe me. I know that watching the Senate side with the gun lobby over our safety is infuriating. That’s why helping Ted win in Ohio must be a top priority for every one of us.
Thanks for joining me in standing with Ted -- he'll help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and make Ohio’s communities safer.
