Gabby Giffords on House Vote to Approve Concealed Carry Reciprocity

WASHINGTON DC — Today, gun violence prevention advocates from Giffords, who co-founded her gun violence prevention organization with her husband, Captain Mark Kelly, denounced the House for voting to approve the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The legislation can now be taken up for a vote by the Senate.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Co-Founder of Giffords:

“Congress has failed the American people. After two of our nation’s worst mass shootings, Congress took direct instruction from the gun lobby and passed a bill that will override existing state laws and allow dangerous, untrained people to carry guns in every state and every city. Let’s be clear: These politicians are trading our safety for political contributions from the gun lobby. Studies show states with weaker concealed carry laws let people with violent criminal histories carry gunsin public, and as a result those states have more violent crime and murder. If you live in a safe community now, this legislation undermines law enforcement and shreds the laws that protect you.

“Several years after being shot in the head, I’ve learned a lot – how to walk again, how to talk again, and how to start each day ready to change the world. But today, I’m furious. I’m angry that with shootings on the rise, the response from politicians is to sell out to the gun lobby and weaken our public safety laws. I’m angry that House Republicans are trying to sink a genuine bipartisan solution to problems with our background check system. I’m angry that the Senate is avoiding responsibility for limiting ...