Received this e-mail today from Captain Mark Kelly, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords' (D. AZ) husband, regarding Governor Chris Christie (R. NJ) and gun safety:
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has a major gun safety bill sitting on his desk right now, and he's about to decide whether to sign it.
The bill is simple and sensible: It would expand background checks on gun purchases and safety training for gun owners, and tighten penalties for letting guns fall into the hands of children.
I wrote an op-ed, which I've included below, urging Gov. Christie to do the right thing and sign New Jersey's gun safety bill into law.
But with a decision coming as early as this afternoon, we don't have much time to make sure Gov. Christie hears our message.
Send a message to Gov. Christie on Facebook or Twitter, urging him to do the right thing and sign New Jersey's gun safety bill into law.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/...
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/....
This is commonsense legislation, but the gun lobby is firmly opposed, threatening severe damage to Gov. Christie's political career unless he vetoes it.
More than 3,200 New Jerseyans have signed our petition urging Gov. Christie to stand up to the gun lobby. Let's keep the momentum going.
All the best,
Mark
You can click here to spread the word:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/...
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/....
Here's a little more background info:
http://www.thenation.com/...
Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed ten measures related to gun control, including some that are mildly controversial in the pro-gun community: one bill would mandate that New Jersey’s gun background-check system cross-reference the federal terror watch list, while another would call for the submission of New Jersey mental health records into the federal background check system.
But some crucial bills remain unsigned, including a “national model” for universal background checks, and a ban on .50-caliber weapons. Christie’s office told The Nation last week that no decision has yet been made on those bills—and this week, many of the national forces in the gun control debate are starting to ramp up the pressure.
As we noted last week, while Christie almost certainly won’t lose the gubernatorial election this fall, a significant amount of his political capital is invested in the idea that he has broad bipartisan appeal in a blue state. Anything that significantly dents his victory margin or poll numbers is a non-trivial threat to his political future—and in the general presidential election, should he make it there, a veto of universal background checks for gun purchases could be significantly damaging.
But of course Christie has to first make it through the GOP presidential primaries, and a majority of self-identified conservative Republicans wouldn’t vote for a candidate who they disagreed with on gun control even if they agreed with him or her on everything else. - The Nation, 8/13/13
So please do spread the word and keep up the pressure.