Giffords starts anti-gun group
She aims to counter lobbyists
TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband launched a political action committee aimed at curbing gun violence Tuesday as her Arizona hometown paused to mark the second anniversary of a deadly shooting rampage that left her with severe injuries.
In Tucson, residents rang bells at 10:11 a.m. — the moment a mentally ill man using a handgun with an extended magazine opened fire on Giffords as she met with constituents outside a Safeway supermarket. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild rang a bell at a fire station 19 times — one for each victim.
At the same time, two politicians on opposite ends of the gun debate held dueling weapons buybacks outside a police station.
On one side was a councilman who supports gun control leading an effort to
give $50 grocery-store gift cards to everyone who turned in their firearms to police. On the other was an event organized by a state senator that turned into an open, unregulated and legal marketplace for firearms.
“We have a fundamental hole in the private sales of guns. You can walk up right in front of a cop and buy a gun, no background check, nothing,” said Councilman Steve Kozachik. “How much more flawed can the system be?”
The people who bought guns from one another declined repeated requests for comments. Republican state Sen. Frank Antenori, a gunrights advocate, didn’t stay at the event but earlier said he was angered by the timing of Kozachik’s event and that paying $50 for a gun was such little money that it amounted to theft.
Giffords and husband Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, wrote in an opinion article published in USA Today that their Americans for Responsible Solutions initiative would help raise money to support greater gun-control efforts and take on the powerful gun lobby.
“Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources,” the couple wrote. They said that it will “raise funds necessary to balance the influence of the gun lobby.”
There was already some concern among gun-control advocates that they were losing the momentum they hoped to have after the Newtown, Conn., elementaryschool shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead in December. Congress has been occupied with budget concerns.
Giffords’ announcement recalled the 1980s when Jim and Sarah Brady formed the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Brady, then-President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, was wounded in the 1981 presidential assassination attempt by a mentally ill gunman.
Brady’s organization has been among the most vocal champions of gun control since then, but it remains to be seen whether Giffords’ group can better compete against the National Rifle Association and its huge fundraising and political clout.
The NRA spent at least $24 million in the 2012 election cycle, including $16.8 million through its political action committee and $7.5 million through its affiliated Institute for Legislative Action.
By comparison, the Brady Campaign spent around $5,800.
And when it comes to direct lobbying of lawmakers, the NRA also was dominant. Through July 1, the NRA spent $4.4 million to lobby Congress, compared with the Brady Campaign’s $60,000.
“This country is known for using its determination and ingenuity to solve problems, big and small. Wise policy has conquered disease, protected us from dangerous products and substances, and made transportation safer,” Giffords and Kelly wrote.
“But when it comes to protecting our communities from gun violence, we’re not even trying — and for the worst of reasons.”
As a House Democrat, Giffords supported gun rights and said she owned a Glock pistol. In the editorial, the couple said they own two guns that are locked in a safe at their house.
At the gun buybacks, Kozachik said that as the Tucson shooting fades from the public’s mind, issues such as controlling the sale of largecapacity magazines and keeping guns from the mentally ill need attention.
“This gave us the opportunity to keep the conversation going on a very sensitive day in this community,” he said.
About 200 firearms, many of them old, some inoperable, were turned in during the event, police said. They were set to be destroyed later in the day. Kozachik said he handed out about $10,000 worth of Safeway grocery gift cards.
In response to the event, Antenori, who did not win re-election in November, organized a gathering outside the same police station where about a dozen people offered cash for guns. He claimed the offer of just the gift card for a gun was like “stealing it.”
“Can you name me one firearm in working condition that’s worth $50 or less?” An- tenori said.
Antenori and Kozachik accused each other of acting out of political motivations. Antenori said the councilman was sullying both the Tucson and Connecticut school shooting victims by the timing of the buyback.
Kozachik said the legislator was just trying to keep his name in the news and remain relevant.
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden has invited the NRA to meet this week with a panel weighing recommendations for ways to stem gun violence.
The NRA is among the stakeholders including guncontrol advocates, victims of shootings and representatives of the movie and video-game industry that will meet with Biden’s task force, White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
The panel is convening sessions today and Thursday.
resident Barack Obama, who supports renewing an expired assault-weapon ban, gave Biden’s panel until the end of this month to submit recommendations.
In other developments, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Tuesday that he would introduce legislation to require background checks for anyone buying large quantities of ammunition.
While gun-control advocates are stepping up pressure for new laws, a coalition of gun-rights groups plan to push back with a nationwide protest scheduled for Jan. 19, a day before President Barack Obama is sworn in for a second term.
The groups are urging gun-rights supporters to show up at firearms stores, gun shows and shooting ranges that day.
“This outpouring of public support is so important for our constitutional safeguards to keep and bear arms,” said Larry Ward, chairman of Gun Appreciation Day and president of Political Media Inc., a Washington-based Republican political consulting firm. Information for this article was contributed by Brian Skoloff, Michael Melia and Bob Christie of The Associated Press and by Roger Runningen and Jonathan D. Salant of Bloomberg News.