The gun prohibition group headed by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords – and named for her – is targeting eight Republican lawmakers with a blitz of advertising designed to “pressure Republican lawmakers ahead of a vote on a new concealed carry bill,” according to The Hill.
Politico identified the targeted lawmakers as Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen(N.J.), Jason Lewis (Minn.), Steve Knight (Calif.), Ed Royce (Calif.), Mimi Walters (Calif.), Mike Coffman (Colo.), Lee Zeldin (N.Y.) and Barbara Comstock (R-Va.).
There was no specific amount mentioned by Politico, but the report said the ad buy was in the six-figure realm.
Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reported over the weekend that Stop Handgun Violence, the most active gun control group in Massachusetts, “is launching a graphic campaign to urge President Trump and members of Congress to ‘wipe the blood off your hands’ by mandating background checks for all firearm sales and renewing the federal assault weapons ban.”
The campaign reportedly uses images from the aftermath of the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1. However, the killer in that incident had gone through multiple background checks to obtain the firearms he used.
And on Sunday, anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety did an email blast asking for contribution because “the House of Representatives just advanced a dangerous gun bill that would gut state gun laws.”
They are talking about the House Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which could be put up for a full House vote at any moment. Once again, the gun prohibition lobbying group argued, “A majority of Americans want leaders on both sides of the aisle to pass commonsense gun safety measures” without defining what those “commonsense” measures might include.
Just because there’s a pro-Second Amendment administration and the GOP has a majority on Capitol Hill doesn’t mean gun owners can sit back and relax. The gun prohibition lobby is well financed, and for them this is a crusade.
Gun rights organizations have a fight on their hands because that Capitol Hill majority, especially in the Senate, is a small one. National, state and even local groups are actively recruiting members.
