A prominent gun safety advocacy group is ready to spend big to boost Democrats who supported Congress' most significant gun policy package in nearly 30 years and attack Republicans who opposed it. The $10 million investment by Giffords PAC, reported by Politico, will go toward local, state and federal elections in Texas and Florida, which have both seen mass shootings, as well as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Colorado, all key battlegrounds that will determine whether Democrats keep their congressional majority. The money is expected to go toward television and digital ads, as well as organizing efforts and public events.
The latest investment from Giffords highlights the potential implications of the gun safety package, which had full support from congressional Democrats, as well as backing from 15 GOP senators and 14 House Republicans. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who started the group after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said the investment is “designed to keep communities safe by giving more gun violence prevention advocates a seat at the table in city commission meetings, state legislatures, and the halls of Congress.” Congress' passage of the bipartisan legislation last month allows groups like Giffords to talk about where lawmakers and candidates stand with more specificity, said Robin Lloyd of Giffords. “It just provides us a unique opportunity in that we actually can educate voters in a much more thoughtful way because there’s a real vote to point to,” Lloyd said. “A vote is a very clear way to illustrate where somebody stands on an issue.”