Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who’s made a second career out of turning her high-profile gun injury into a campaign for more Second Amendment crackdowns, spoke briefly but bluntly to Washington lawmakers who were mulling dueling gun bills: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
She was speaking for the side of Initiative 594, a measure that would require background checks for all sales or transfers of firearms in the state, whether the transactions are conducted by licensed gun dealers or private civilians, The Los Angeles Times reported.
On the other side of the equation is Initiative 591, a measure that prohibits background checks on private parties who engage in firearms sales or transfers. The measure, debated at the same time as Initiative 594, also makes it “unlawful for any government agency to confiscate guns or other firearms from citizens without due process,” the text reads, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Most political watchers believe lawmakers will fail to act on either measure and leave them to voters to decide via referendum in November.
But Ms. Giffords made a play for the gun control anyway in a one-minute address that was nonetheless seen as the high point of the otherwise lengthy legislative debates.
“The last few years have been hard,” she said, to the House Judiciary Committee members, The Los Angeles Times reported. “Stopping gun violence takes courage. The courage to do what’s right. The courage of new ideas.”
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Second Amendment & Gun Control
She also said, the newspaper reported: “Now is the time to come together, be responsible. Democrats, Republicans, everyone. We must never stop fighting. Be bold. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you.”
The Los Angeles Times also reported that in a dramatic show, Mrs. Giffords ultimately raised her left fist: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.