Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and husband Mark Kelly, on Thursday waded into the Virginia governor’s race.
In an email to supporters, the group attacked the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, saying he has “spent a career making it easier for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to get their hands on weapons.” The group noted that the National Rifle Association recently spent $500,000 on television advertising in the race.
Cuccinelli is a gun rights advocate. His Democratic opponent in the race, Terry McAuliffe, supports universal background checks.
Read an excerpt from the email below:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has a secret he’s been trying to hide from the 91% of Virginians who support common sense solutions to keep our communities safer from gun violence.
He’s spent a career making it easier for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to not only get their hands on weapons, but to carry them in schools, churches, and bars. Cuccinelli even stepped up as a leading opponent of reform after the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech in 2008.
That’s why the gun lobby is desperately trying to rescue his faltering campaign with a $500,000 television ad buy attacking his opponent.
If you believe, like Gabby and I do, that the only way we’ll change our gun laws is to challenge the influence of the gun lobby in all fifty states, then I hope you’ll join our campaign to educate Virginians about Ken Cuccinelli’s extreme record on guns.
…
With Congress unwilling to act on guns, the work we do in individual states takes on even greater meaning.
