Bloomberg anti-gun ad marks second anniversary of Arizona shooting
(CNN) – This mother’s passionate plea for gun control will air in living rooms around the country on the second anniversary of her daughter’s death.
“My nine-year old daughter was murdered in the Tuscon shooting,” says Roxanna Green. “I have one question for our political leaders: when will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby?”
“Whose child has to die next?”
Her daughter Christina was among the six killed and 13 wounded in the shooting at neighborhood event with then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on January 8, 2011. Giffords was among those wounded and who eventually resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery. Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty in August to 19 counts related to the shooting.
But Green remembers her daughter, the youngest victim of the shooting, and calls for action in a new television ad from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
His group also enlisted celebrities to star in a recent video supporting the effort to “Demand a Plan” for action on gun control.
Green’s daughter was a few years older than the 20 six- and seven-year-olds killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, at a shooting there December 14.
That shooting sparked a new wave of calls for gun control, including from leaders in Washington. President Barack Obama pledged “meaningful action” against gun violence and appointed Vice President Joe Biden to lead the effort.
Bloomberg applauded Obama’s statement and urged him to take “immediate steps.” On Monday, Bloomberg outlined his platform, including strengthening background check requirements and banning assault weapons. The assault weapons ban was enacted in 1994, but expired in 2004, and has not been renewed.
The influential National Rifle Association argued the Newtown shooting made the case for armed guards in schools as a line of defense.
The ad will run on cable in Washington, beginning Tuesday and will air through January 14 – the one month anniversary of the Newtown shooting. Obama set the end of January as the deadline for Biden’s group to report back.
It will run Tuesday only in Tuscon, Arizona, as well as other cities affected by gun violence: Binghamton, New York; Fargo, North Dakota; Roanoke, Virginia; and Waco, Texas; Denver and Milwaukee. In Tuscon, the group says the ad will run around 10:10 a.m. local time, to mark when the shooting occurred.
Also Tuesday, Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, launched a new website, "Americans for Responsible Solutions." The new effort will "encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership," according to the website. The couple further marked the day by co-authoring an op-ed in "USA Today."
"We can't be naive about what it will take to achieve the most common-sense solutions," the op-ed states. "We can't just hope that the last shooting tragedy will prevent the next. Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources."
Bloomberg’s ad encourages people to sign an online petition on the group’s website.
Christina, the nine-year-old, was remembered at her funeral as the only girl on her Little League team – and one aspiring to the major leagues. She attended the Giffords event after her election to the middle school student council.
“To every mother, we can not wait,” Green says in the ad. “We have to demand a plan.”
- CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this report
READ MORE: Bloomberg: Biden no 'shrinking violet' on gun control
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- Untitled
How about not using your dead kid to advance your political agenda? M'kay. I lose all respect for people who politicize family tragedies for P.R. and ideology.. And that includes both left and right.
How about not using your murdered child to advance your political agenda? M'kay.
people have been killing people since cain & abel – most likely will do so, til the end of time. if they don't have guns to do it with – they will come up with something else.
I'm a gun freak, and satisfying my paranoia is more important than saving children's lives.
"armed citizen was pionting his gun at him. When he seen that he was about to be shot he took is own life. That armed citizen was and is a hero but the media doesn't want Americans to know that. It's time that we rise up against the media for they are waging a terroristic war against Americans and they must be stopped."
That is because the only place that version of the story happened was in the Drudge "cone of stupidity".
Out in reality, the 22 year old would be Marshal Dillon, savior of thousands of Oregonians, ran and hid in a store when he realized the ahooter had spotted him, hiding behind a column with his gun drawn.
Just as he should have, again, out here in reality, not all of us think of ourselves as Dirty Harry.
Lynda/Minnesota
You are confusing the polticians definition of life with the science. The presence of human dna coupled with a beating heart make a fetus a life by the time it is aborted. A fetus has a heart beat, is alive (check an ultrasound), moves,& grows just like child outside the womb and is a life anyway u slice it.
It amazes me how predictable we are as a society. It is no different when McVeigh ombed the fedearl building. Suddenly we must watch fertilizer sales! Same thing with Sudafed and the meth epidemic. So they restrict Sudafed, guess what? They move to the next option. Meth is still rampant. It is about the behavior, not the act. But America wants to ban the pencil for the punctuation mistakes. I am not a gun nut, I just know this idiotic approach never adresses the real problem.
Can you say War on Drugs?
I've yet to hear anybody in an elected position arguing to "take away" any firearms currently owned by any citizen who lawfully purchased them and uses them within the laws of their State. All reasonable people want to focus on future import, trade, and U.S. manufacturing efforts – to ultimately put a cap on the number of high capacity/capability weapons and magazines already distributed in the country and place restrictions on the unregulated transfers. Why is that hard?
Unless there is legislation against violence in movies and video games they will continue to train our children that killing is ok. Would the results of these horrendous crimes have been better if a car bomb or other explosive device had been used. Stop blaming guns and place the blame for these acts with the industries that have trained the perpetrators that killing innocent people is a way to gain revenge or notoriety.
And to all you neocons equating the deaths of 6 year olds to the death of a zygote, will some one have to use a Bushmaater to shoot up a hospital nursery of newborns before you equate a "living baby" to a 6 year old?
CNN, you've been VERY busy today with your anti-gun agenda.
How about you use the same level of attention to speak for the MUCH larger number of children killed every year through drunk driving. The COUNTLESS higher number of children whose lives are destroyed by alcohol?
The reason? You're focused on an anti-gun agenda and you will shamelessly use whatever low tactics required, even when there are MUCH bigger problems out there. It's just that you can't anger the alcohol or tobacco lobbies, can you??
What's the matter? You guys taking a lot of heat for Piers Morgan and need to try and support your (likely) huge investment in his salary? WHY NOT TALK ABOUT ISSUES THAT CAUSE MUCH GREATER LOSS OF LIFE??? Why not? Because it's not trendy.
CNN as a news organization? Don't make me laugh. You stopped being that (and your people stopped being "journalists") long ago.
Pretty funny. I make a comment criticizing NNC for being political and using shameless tactics and it needs "moderation". Let's see if this one sneaks through (if not, shame on you). Alcohol and domestic violence account for FAR greater child deaths each year. Where is your outrage for them? Waiting on your marching orders from Obama?
Funny, I have not seen any politician putting forth legislation banning all guns. Yet, that seems to be the gun nuts biggest argument. But that has been their MO lately. If you can't defeat your enemy, redifine him into one you can beat.
You guys like to site increased murder stats in Chicago, but fail to mention that the ban was lifted in 2010.
And yes, people die everyday for a variety of reasons. People are murdered everyday by multiple means. But that is just another conservative created "fact" to cover up actual common sense. And the fact is that most murders involve few people, 2-3 tops. Maybe even self inflicted wounds. But what we are talking about here is one person taking out multiple people and injuring countless others. And there aren't too many ways you can do that.
While the loss of a child is unimaginable, I could not go on Nat. TV and use my child for politcal reasons. To me that is low and I really do not have any respect for this child parents. Your child did not die because of guns. She died because of a madman who was evil. His choice of weapon could have been anything. If the killer had used a knife would u be on Nat. TV advocating a ban on kniives? What if he had used a bomb, or a car and drove into a crowd? What then?
Nice going Dems. I guess for you it's all about the children. By any exploitive means necessary.
The sad but understandable part of this is that these actions are done to assuage our own pain and guilt, NOT to solve problems. We react without thinking and make dumb decisions to "feel better". Background checks on ammunition? Won't do anything. Banning online sales of ammo? Won't do anything. Come on, people, a single box of pistols bullets contains 50 rounds. Here's what you need to do:
1) Close the gun show loophole–a minor inconvenience at most to people who then just need to go to an FFL to make a transaction.
2) Stiffen the penalties to VERY high levels for using a firearm in a crime.
3) Make stealing a firearm SO costly as a felony that burglars will not even bother to steal a gun from a home; rather they'll leave it since the penalty for being caught with a stolen firearm is so costly.
The liberal Left and Democrats are, as usual, jumping to conclusions and in their rush to appear more saintly than each other, vying for attention for "their" anti-gun legislation. Don't bother about the 2nd Amendment, don't bother understanding its intent, don't bother actually thinking about what you're doing. To Democrats and liberals, doing SOMETHING is essential, even if that something is the worst thing you could do. Sad but completely to be expected from you.
"How about not using your dead kid to advance your political agenda? M'kay. I lose all respect for people who politicize family tragedies for P.R. and ideology".
How about we gun down your 5 year old daughter or grandchild, or nephew with 11 "cop killer" bullets from a Bushmaster and see if it changes your self righteous perspective?
The only "political agenda" being addressed, is the child had a right to become an adult!
Michael, we as a society decide what laws we should abide by. We have the ability to adjust or change those laws as necessary. Alot of times, laws are made after the fact. If folks knew that McVeigh would use fertilizer, the restrictions would have beeni in place way before. Otherwise, it's not much more we can do. Folks will find ways and we must find ways to discourage them.
I also make note of the drug war, but for different reasons as I love when those screaming for less govt and an end to the nanny state seem to never want to get rid of drug laws. Though I don't agree with ending them simply because folks will get drugs if they choose to. Because if that is the case, maybe we should start with the speed limit. And make it retroactive, so I don't have to pay this stupid ticket......