Student activists find friend, fighter in Giffords
Gun control debate has a new momentum
WASHINGTON – In front of the U.S. Capitol, Audrey Wright had just finished an emotional plea for lawmakers to take action on background checks for gun owners. As the high school junior stepped back from the microphone, Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords grabbed her hand, kissed her cheek and proudly said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.”
The words alone were significant for Giffords, a former congresswoman from Tucson, Arizona, who survived an assassination attempt in her district in 2011 and was left with a traumatic brain injury that makes it difficult for her to speak.
But the moment was noteworthy, too.
It was a joining of two generations of activists: Giffords, who has become a leading voice on gun control, and the students who have become gun con-
“We need politicians to show the same courage demonstrated by the survivors of gun violence.”
Gabrielle Giffords, former congresswoman who survived assassination attempt
trol activists after a series of shootings over the last year.
“I’ve worked really hard to give voice to millions of regular Americans who didn’t used to feel like there was room for them in the gun safety debate,” Giffords told USA TODAY in an email because her speech is limited.
USA TODAY spent last Tuesday with Giffords in Washington as she met with students, then joined them in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Wright, 18, has grown up in Chicago surrounded by gun violence. She has joined a rising number of young people calling for action. Wright and two fellow students spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill, alongside Giffords and Democratic lawmakers, one day before the House would vote for the biggest expansion of background checks in 25 years.
A time to say: ‘Enough’
Giffords’ work on gun control would be hard to imagine a decade ago when she – a gun owner and moderate Democrat from Arizona – last worked in Washington.
When Giffords was a congresswoman, gun control was not a priority for her, nor for most of the Democratic Party, for that matter. Democrats did not move any gun control legislation when they had the White House, House and a supermajority in the Senate.
But the focus on guns has shifted. On Wednesday, Democrats passed a bill that expands background checks to include private transactions, such as purchases online and at gun shows. Thursday the House passed another measure that would extend the number of days firearms dealers must wait to proceed with a sale from three to at least 10 days.
But there are risks for the party heading into 2020. Gun politics has long been thorny for Democrats. While background checks and other changes are broadly popular, many gun owners in pivotal states like Arizona feel passionately enough about the debate that it would influence their vote.
But Democrats say school shootings such as the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre last year have led to a broader shift in public opinion.
The Giffords organization
Giffords, her husband, Mark Kelly, and the staff of their gun control organization, called simply Giffords, have been working closely on crafting the background check legislation with Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., who chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Thompson and Giffords were friends when she was in the House, and the pair introduced one of the bills together last month on the eight-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting.
Giffords was shot at a Congress on Your Corner event Jan. 8, 2011. A gunman opened fire in a Safeway parking lot, killing six people and wounding 13, including Giffords.
Almost two years later, Giffords’ health was progressing, and she was starting to think about what was next for her. Then on Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman killed 20 children and six adult staff members at at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“It was that day I said, ‘Enough.’ Just a few weeks later Mark and I launched our organization dedicated to inspiring action to address America’s gun violence crisis,” Giffords said in an email to USA TODAY.
The organization started in January 2013 with Giffords, Kelly and three former staff members. Six years later it is a major organization operating with a $25 million budget and 50 staff members across the country.
“I spent a career working across the aisle on legislation and winning tough campaigns in a conservative district,” Giffords said. “Fundamentally, we need politicians to show the same courage demonstrated by the survivors of gun violence, challenge the NRA, and pass safer gun laws. And we’ve made some progress like that.
“But we also need to be tough. That’s why we hold politicians accountable when they take NRA money and vote against the safety of our kids and communities.”
Students call for stricter gun laws
One month after 17 people were killed last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, more than 1 million students and their supporters took to the streets to call for stricter gun laws.
The Giffords organization spotted an opportunity to engage the students, and it announced the first Giffords Courage Fellowship that summer. The organization selected 28 students who are active on gun safety and work with them to develop their advocacy skills over the course of a year, including multiple trips to Washington.
Last week marked the group’s second trip to the nation’s capital, and the students were excited to meet Giffords. She was warm and friendly at a breakfast meeting, touching shoulders and grasping hands, as she walked through the room saying “Hello, hello” and pointing out it was a “gorgeous day.”
Megan McGuire, 17, said it was “really incredible” meeting Giffords in light of “everything that she’s been doing for people around the country, or people like me, who have been in a shooting.” McGuire survived the Santa Fe High School rampage in Texas that left 10 people dead May 18, 2018.
Not every victim of gun violence leaves the experience a crusader for gun control. Case in point: Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republicans’ chief vote counter.
On June 14, 2017, Scalise was practicing with his fellow Republicans as they prepared for an annual congressional baseball game when a gunman opened fire. Scalise was shot in the hip. After three months of recovery, he returned to Capitol Hill and is a strong supporter of gun rights. “It was people with guns who saved me from that shooting and everybody else on that field as well,” he told USA TODAY.
Despite their differing views on gun control, Giffords and Scalise are members of a club nobody wants to join, and it has connected them. The day Giffords was at the Capitol to introduce the background check bill, Scalise said, he “went over and we just saw each other and gave each other a big hug.”
“It was just a really special moment.”
Corrections & Clarifications
A story on page 2A Monday about Democratic pressure on President Donald Trump incorrectly stated the first name of the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer. His name is Allen Weisselberg.
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