Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post reports
Gabby Giffords Speaks Out On Gun Violence Against Women, calling for a "common sense" "gun bills that keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers."
Former Representative Giffords was shot in the head in 2011, while meeting with constituents in Tucson, Arizona, and started a gun violence prevention PAC called Americans for Responsible Solutions with her husband Captain Mark Kelly.
"Dangerous people with guns are a threat to women," Giffords told a crowd at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. "Criminals with guns. Stalkers with guns. Abusers with guns. That makes gun violence a women's issue." ...
Giffords and Kelly spoke Wednesday at a discussion of policy solutions to protect women from gun violence, sponsored by the Center for American Progress. One such solution, a bill proposed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), would add convicted stalkers and non-cohabiting dating partners to the list of domestic abusers who cannot legally purchase a gun. Statistics show that stalking often leads to physical abuse and homicide, but a new report released by CAP on Wednesday found that there are at least 11,986 convicted stalkers living in the United States who can walk into a store, pass a background check and legally purchase a firearm.
"Today we're talking about keeping guns out of the hands of men who stalk and abuse women," Kelly said. "We're talking about passing laws that will absolutely save lives, especially the lives of women. ... Today we are closer than ever to doing this, but we can't do it if we don't all work together. ... Together we can change our laws," Giffords said Wednesday. "Together we can win elections. Please join your voice with mine."
Laura Bassett tells us that Giffords and Kelly are supporting Senator Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) bill that would implement stronger background checks and prohibit sales of firearms to those under restraining orders.