Giffords and Kelly touring to revive background checks
(CNN) – Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly are hitting the road to try bolstering support for extending background checks on gun sales, a prospect that failed earlier this year but that gun control supporters have vowed to continue pursuing.
The week-long "Rights and Responsibilities Tour," which begins July 1, will "rally supporters and remind elected officials that our cherished Second Amendment rights demand great responsibility," according to a press release from Kelly and Giffords' gun control group Americans for Responsible Solutions.
It will roll through several states home to senators who voted "no" in April on a bipartisan measure that would have extending background checks to online sales and gun shows. It begins in Alaska, the home of Sen. Mark Begich, who was one of four Democrats who opposed the background checks measure.
The tour will also hit North Dakota, represented by another Democrat who voted "no" on background checks, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.
New Hampshire, where Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte has faced some criticism for her opposition to the amendment, is also on the itinerary. North Carolina, Maine and Ohio are also listed as stops.
"I've been around guns my whole life, and I know that as an American, my right to own a firearm goes hand in hand with my obligation to be a responsible gun owner and to do my part to make sure guns don't fall into the hands of criminals or dangerously mentally ill people," Kelly said in a statement. "Gabby and I are excited to hit the road this summer and meet so many of the great Americans who are standing with us to fight for common-sense solutions to prevent gun violence and protect our rights."
The failure to pass the background check amendment in April was considered a major blow to gun control legislation that was pushed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December.
Gun control groups like Gifford and Kelly's operation, along with the Michael Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns, pushed back against senators who voted "no" on the measure, including spending millions airing ads against both Democrats and Republicans.
CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this report.
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"Never give up. Never surrender." Galaxy Quest
Democrat or republican, you're toast in your next election. Can you hear us now Sen. Ayotte & Heitkamp?
Soooooooo busy defending their second amendment rights, they cannot even see their voter rights going right out the window.
Lose your vote and see how long you get to keep your pop guns, not to mention trial by jury, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion...................
Yawn, another red herring. Sooner or later we as a society will have to focus on the perp instead of the tool.
Florida lawsuit alleges Patriots' Hernandez shot friend in face ... ensued between Alexander Bradley, the suit's plaintiff, and the football player. ... The bullet hit Bradley, 30, causing him to lose his right eye,
How come Hernandez can still own a gun ?
But who among majority of lawmakers would dare stand up to NRA?
Spending other people's money and hitting the road for what? Gun safety? Laughable at the very best.
Of ZERO value.........unless........you require those with mental health issues to be included in the database.
Does Gifford and Kelly's operation consider mass-murders as gun victims, like MAIG? If these groups were interested in reducing gun violence and gun abuse, they would be out campaigning for NRA and NSSF gun safety classes. I hope that Gifford and Kelly are just mis-guided and not intentionally doing harm to our republic.
I support We the People have the right to bear arms. When those guns are in the wrong arms then 'Houston- We Have a Problem'! Go Gabby + Mark!
What good does a law requiring me to make FORMAL transfer of a gun to my son just so he can take it to the reange do?
A lot if you are collecting make model and serial number.
I know some will say the feds can't keep this information. That has not stopped them from tapping every americans phone though. They say they only use it if needed. Well they only will need this data to round gun owners up in the middle of the night.
just because others break the law doesn't mean i lose my rights. the first amendment is number one for a reason and the second amendment is number two for a reason. leave it alone he you want un gun laws move to europe and leave us alone
I have no problem with an increased level of a background check. But what is the government need those records for? Most, if not all of the mass shootings were because they WILL NOT release their medical/mental records.
This issue is gone. The libs tried and failed on guns just like they always have and always will. Bill Clinton warned of this. It will be democrats losing their seats in congress if they keep this up.
Rick McDaniel
Of ZERO value.........unless........you require those with mental health issues to be included in the database.
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You cannot look at mental health records, not unless you overturn previous NRA-sponsored legislation that bans the use of mental health records when performing background checks for gun purchases. I think it was passed back in the '80s.
@ don... the second amendment protects our other rights so if we lose it we will soon lose them all
This nation desperately needs GUN-BAN LAWS. Period.
Didnt mr kelly,just the day before making an anti scary black rifle speech, legally purchase a scary black rifle and the exact same model handgun used to shoot his wife? Hypocrites! Dont even get me started on that bilderberg bloomberg and what his bodyguards are carrying!