Giffords, Anti-Gunners Change Their Messaging to Match Changing Crime Stats 

By Larry Keane

National gun control activists are having a hard time keeping their messaging to the American people straight ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence is only the latest example and the breathless hyperbole and hypocrisy coming out of their press releases and campaign emails makes it abundantly clear. They are hypocrites.

The presidential election is razor thin as early voting has started across the country and the campaigns are making their closing pitches to undecided voters. Former President Donald Trump made his Second Amendment pitch clear, telling voters in a social media post his stance.

“Gun owners must register to Vote, TODAY, if you want to save your guns. Our Second Amendment is under Siege by the Democrats. They want to confiscate your guns. BE SMART. VOTE!!!,” the former president messaged.

On the flip side of the coin is Vice President Kamala Harris. She supported gun confiscation before she didn’t, including handgun bans in San Francisco and using unconstitutional executive overreach to confiscate Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) before walking that back as well. Now, she admits she owns a handgun that is largely off limits to law-abiding Californians given that state’s strict gun control. But as always, it’s “Gun control for thee, not for me.”

Not to be left out of the hypocritical fun, Giffords has jumped in.

Blind to Crime

Giffords can’t keep track any more if crime is down or up and whether Americans are allowed to be concerned about their safety. Just one month ago, they joined the chorus in repeating President Joe Biden’s claims that violent crime in America had been greatly reduced because of his gun control agenda.

“President Biden is right: ‘If you’re trying to talk about reducing crime and violence in America, you need to talk about guns in America.’ [President Biden] has taken historic action to keep guns from falling in the wrong hands. Thanks to his leadership, violent crime is down,” the gun control group posted on social media.

As the saying goes – garbage in, garbage out. It turns out gun control groups and the Biden-Harris administration were crowing loudly about data that was severely flawed. Last week, a Real Clear Investigation report revealed the FBI “stealth edited” crime data back in 2021 and 2022 which led to their 2023 report showing crime had in fact increased recently by 4.5 percent, compared to the originally stated 2.1 percent decrease. Don’t hold your breath for Giffords or The White House to issue corrections.

However, the “crime is down” narrative regurgitated by Giffords wasn’t the same message that they recently voiced in a press release attacking U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).

“Today, the national gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS, founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, criticized Rep. Mike Lawler for accepting financial support from the corporate gun industry’s trade association while gun violence remains a threat to families in the Lower Hudson Valley,” a press release noted.

The group is attacking Rep. Lawler – one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress – in hopes of knocking him off in favor of their endorsed candidate former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.).

Apparently, all the gun control laws that Giffords pushes on law-abiding New Yorkers haven’t made them any safer, according to their own press release. Don’t forget former Rep. Gabby Giffords, the founder of her namesake gun control group, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul during a recent gun control bill signing ceremony.

Dollars and Sense

The hypocrisy of Giffords’ latest ploy doesn’t end there. They also made an additional attack that makes even less sense. Remember, this is Giffords we’re talking about. For all intents and purposes, they have plenty of money to throw around at the candidates they choose to help.

In the same press release attacking Rep. Lawler for standing up for his law-abiding constituents, Giffords tries to claim he’s somehow “bought” by the firearm industry.

Giffords criticized Rep. Lawler for accepting a contribution from the firearm industry trade association’s political action committee. “The contribution from NSSF PAC was unearthed in Lawler’s third quarter campaign financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission,” the Giffords release breathlessly reveals.

Giffords uses the word “unearthed” as a different way of saying they looked at the publicly disclosed campaign finance documents that every candidate and political action committee – like they, themselves – make public. It’s true – NSSF PAC contributed $1,000 to Rep. Lawler.

What did Giffords do for former Rep. Jones?

“Last month, GIFFORDS PAC announced a $1 million investment in the race to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District as part of its $15 million commitment to electing and supporting gun safety champions in 2024,” their release stated. “The NY-17 effort includes cable and digital ads in support of former Rep. Mondaire Jones and in opposition to Rep. Mike Lawler.”

That was quickly followed up by Giffords throwing another $1.8 million to target Latino voters for Vice President Harris in both Michigan and Nevada, just the latest in the $15 million total for this election cycle to push gun control. With less than two weeks until election day, Giffords is spending “bigly.”

Don’t Be Fooled

The New York congressional race is not the only example of gun control groups spending millions – in the case of Micheal Bloomberg and his Everytown for Gun Safety, it’s billions with a B – for gun control while turning a blind eye to their own hypocrisy. But law-abiding Americans must be educated when they head to the polls in less than two weeks or while sending in their mail ballot.

It’s exactly why NSSF released its 2024 Congressional Report Card covering current U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators to show voters where their Members of Congress stand on firearm and ammunition industry issues.

It’s also why voters need to visit www.GunVote.org to be educated and #GUNVOTE® on Nov. 5 so they Don’t Risk Your Rights™.  Gun owners can also support NSSF’s Protect Liberty PAC by going to www.ProtectLibertyPAC.com. This election, the Second Amendment is on the ballot.