Posted on 07/03/2013 10:08:36 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
CINCINNATI - Before riding in the Northside Fourth of July parade on Thursday, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, will make a plea for expanded background checks for gun buyers.
Both Giffords, who was critically wounded in a shooting rampage in 2011, and Kelly are gun owners and say they continue to support gun rights. Giffords fired a gun at a range Monday for the first time since she was shot.
They are spreading their message to seven states in seven days on their “Rights and Responsibilities Tour.” They are hoping to appeal to moderate Republicans to support gun legislation that was voted down two months ago. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman voted against the bill.
“We can’t stop every person who is determined to do harm, but common-sense measures can prevent tragedies,” Giffords wrote in an editorial in USA Today on Monday. “Expanding background checks will help create a uniform standard for all gun purchases and prevent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining powerful weapons.”
“As gun owners, my husband and I understand that the Second Amendment is most at risk when a criminal or deranged person commits a gun crime,” Giffords said. “These acts only embolden those who oppose gun ownership. Promoting responsible gun laws protects the Second Amendment and reduces lives lost from guns.”
The man who shot Giffords and 18 others, Jared Lee Loughner, passed a background check for the gun he used in his slaughter in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011. He killed six and wounded 13.
After the shooting, Giffords retired from Congress to heal and she and Kelly started an organization called Americans for Responsible Solutions .
New polling confirms the popularity of expanded background checks in Ohio, an APR press release said.
"Sen. Portman represents a state that knows both the value of our Second Amendment rights and the everyday tragedies of gun violence,” Kelly said in the release. “He can support common-sense policies like background checks that are critical to law enforcement and that enhance the rights of gun owners.”
In Northside, Giffords and Kelly will speak at an event for media only and then ride in the parade, a spokesperson said. Local supporters will accompany them during the parade.
The Northside parade starts at noon near the intersection of Ashtree Drive and Hamilton Avenue and finishes at Jacob Hoffner Park at the center of Northside.
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