There's nothing like the beginning of a new Congress. Like all students heading into the new school year, there is both excitement and anxiety in the air. You will find yourself standing on the floor of the House of Representatives with 434 of your colleagues from all over the country. Many of them have nothing in common other than the fact that they are in the same room.
But I haven't been a member of Congress for a long time. 14 years ago today, I shot in the head Because a dangerous man could buy a gun. Six innocent people were murdered: Christina Taylor, Dorothy, Judge John Roll, Phyllis, Dowan, and Gabe. I'll never forget their names. Twelve other people were injured.
The shooting incident and assassination attempt on me completely changed my life. I had to relearn how to walk, but I still have difficulty speaking. I had to resign from Congress, but this was the best job for me.
That same day, a sitting lawmaker was shot in the head in Tucson, drawing national attention. But the truth is, getting shot is not uncommon these days. Gun violence is a national crisis, and now… Leading cause of death for American children and teens. More than 125 people die every day. This does not include the tens of thousands more who, like me, had their lives changed in an instant by a bullet.
The year I was shot, 11,208 people were killed by guns in the United States. The number of gun homicides for the year has nearly doubled from the previous year. 21,000 after the pandemic. Gun violence is as prevalent as smoking once was, and the Surgeon General recently issued the following recommendations: Public health warning about gun violenceas was the case with cigarettes a generation ago.
The statistics are startling. It is difficult to comprehend the scale of the avoidable trauma that this country encounters every day. Imagine that someone you love – a child, parent, neighbor, friend – never texts you back. Never call. Never laugh. Never laugh. Imagine how you would feel if you learned that the losses could have been prevented if our nation's lawmakers had prioritized public safety over the interests of the corporate gun lobby and gun industry.
Despite the ongoing crisis, progress is being made. The outgoing Biden administration has done more to save lives than any administration in our nation's history. President Biden and Vice President Harris created the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. They worked with members of both parties to pass and sign the bill. Bipartisan Safe Communities Actthe most important gun bill in decades. The federal government is finally going after gun traffickers, straw buyers, and illegal gun dealers who circumvent the law.
But now, with only weeks until the new president is sworn into office, much of the country is at stake. Understood.
During the campaign, President-elect Trump said he would undo all that progress. Bragging about not doing anything with guns in his first term. But Trump himself acknowledges the need for it. background checkit would be wise to reconsider.
Laws that keep guns away from domestic abusers and criminals are just common sense and incredibly popular with voters of all political stripes. GIFFORDS, the gun violence prevention organization I belong to, has the data to back that up, and I'm sure the NRA does too. 92% of Republicans support background checks for all gun sales, 80% support a crackdown on ghost guns, and 78% support requiring a license to own a gun, a higher number than Democrats. and even higher among independents.
As President Trump begins his second term, he and his team should understand that rolling back effective protections to reduce gun violence is a losing proposition. Most importantly, doing so would weaken public safety and result in American deaths. But it would also upset a majority of voters. The only people who want gun laws loosened are gun industry executives and their lobbyists.
I urge soon-to-be President Trump to reevaluate his priorities and protect public safety above all else before taking the oath of office. The Trump administration has nothing to gain and everything to lose by making it easier for dangerous people to obtain guns, just like Americans. Trust me, I know.
Gabrielle Giffords served in Congress from 2007 to 2012. She is the founder of Giffords, an organization that seeks to save lives from gun violence.
