Good news from Sen. Tim Kaine’s campaign…and a stark contrast with Corey Stewart’s embrace of/by the gun lobby. The choice in this election is crystal clear; if you care about taking commonsense measures to reduce gun violence in this country – Tim Kaine is your candidate!
RELEASE: Giffords Endorses Tim Kaine for Senate in Virginia
The endorsement comes as part of Giffords’ #VoteCourage Campaign to elect gun reform candidates nationwide
Washington, DC – Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced its endorsement of Senator Tim Kaine for reelection. Kaine now joins a growing list of endorsed candidates supported by Giffords in 2018, as part of the organization’s #VoteCourage campaign, an effort to elect gun safety champions. The organization expects to announce additional endorsements in the weeks and months to come.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords:
“America experienced three of the deadliest mass shootings in modern history in just the past year. Over 38,000 people in our country were killed by a gun. Virginia has not been immune to this deadly crisis: somebody is killed by a gun in Virginia every 8 hours. Despite this devastating reality, the gun lobby has used its cash and influence to stifle any attempts to pass laws on Capitol Hill to make our schools, streets, and communities more safe.
“The American people are outraged and tired of inaction. They are ready to use their power to demand that the leaders we elect to represent us are committed to creating a world where gun violence is not a daily problem. Voters are calling for leaders who will always put protecting the safety of our communities first, not themselves, and certainly not the gun lobby.
“Senator Kaine acknowledged the devastating toll of our nation’s gun violence crisis, and he is working tirelessly to combat it. His passion, leadership, and dedication as a leading gun safety champion will be critical for our next victories in Congress to save lives and prevent future tragedies. Giffords is proud to endorse Tim Kaine, a leader who has the courage stand up to the corporate gun lobby and who will never stop working to make Virginia communities safer.”
Senator Tim Kaine:
“I am so proud to have the support of Giffords in my campaign,” “Real, substantive action in Congress to reduce gun violence will only happen because of the relentless advocacy embodied by my good friend Gabby and organizations like Giffords. I will continue to advocate for policies such as universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and increased mental health care in this fight to make communities across Virginia and the country safer.”
Senator Tim Kaine is a lawyer with decades of public service experience at national, state, and local levels of government. Senator Kaine regularly holds forums with constituents all over the state of Virginia to discuss how gun violence impacts their communities. Kaine was the Governor of Virginia at the time of the Virginia Tech shooting and has been a vocal proponent of expanding background checks ever since. Immediately after the shooting, he championed efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of severely mentally ill people. Senator Kaine also supports providing funding to study gun violence, repealing legislation which grants the gun industry legal immunity that no other industry enjoys, as well as banning assault weapons, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines. We are proud to endorse Senator Tim Kaine for Senate in 2018.
Giffords’ #VoteCourage campaign aims to elect gun safety advocates to Congress and defeat politicians who have historically worked against gun reform, or done nothing at all to prevent gun violence. The political program targets incumbents in mostly suburban districts and uses a mixture of TV and digital advertising, on-the-ground organizing, and a voter registration push to create momentum for meaningful progress on gun safety.
Learn More about Giffords’ 2018 political program here.
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Giffords is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, Giffords inspires the courage of people from all walks of life to make America safer.
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