A prominent gun-rights group Wednesday endorsed 13 incumbent members of Congress who reside in districts that could flip towards Republicans in November.
“Below are our latest U.S. House endorsements, and they represent candidates in some of the most competitive districts in the country,” Giffords said in a press release. “In order to continue making progress on this issue — investing in community violence intervention programs, funding gun violence research, closing domestic violence loopholes, passing universal background checks, and so much more — we must send these incumbent representatives back to Capitol Hill next January.”
Giffords is a gun control group run by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was the target of an attempted assassination in 2011. She is married to U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
One of Giffords’ endorsees – all of whom are Democrats – is Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05).
“In Congress, Representative Hayes’s first resolution was to prohibit the use of federal funds to arm teachers,” the groups said of Hayes. “In the years since, she has also introduced legislation to prevent school-based gun violence and improve data collection on school shootings. She is deputy whip of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and she supports a variety of lifesaving gun violence prevention measures.”
Hayes won her last general election by about 12 percent.
Another of the endorsees is Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA-02).
“In the House, Representative Luria has supported legislation to expand background checks to all gun sales, prohibit the possession or transfer of large-capacity magazines, and allow family members and law enforcement officers to petition a judge to keep firearms out of the hands of those determined to be a danger to themselves or others,” the press release said.
Luria beat former Congressman Scott Taylor in his bid to return to Congress in 2020 by a margin of six percent.
Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA-07) also received an endorsement from the group.
“In office she has supported countless lifesaving bills and resolutions, including the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Violence Against Women Act,” Giffords said of Wild.
Republicans hope to retake control of both chambers of Congress in November, in which case it is likely that no new gun control laws would be passed.
Currently, there is a major gun control bill pending in the U.S. House.
HR 127 “establishes a process for the licensing and registration of firearms. It also prohibits the possession of certain ammunition and large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”
Republicans have battled against gun registration for years, and the bill would likely be dead on arrival if ever brought in front of a Republican Congress.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at the Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gabby Giffords” by Giffords.
