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US gun control group 'to balance NRA influence'
by Kim Landers
by North America correspondent Kim Landers
Updated January 09, 2013 12:12:48
Gun-control advocates in the US have set up a new group designed to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The woman behind it is Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot and wounded in Tucson two years ago.
Ms Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, have decided to take on the powerful gun lobby.
They say it was a meeting last week with the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook primary school massacre that prompted them to take action.
"It brought back a lot of memories about what that was like for us some two years ago today, and you hope this sort of thing doesn't happen again - but you know what, it does happen again," Mr Kelly said.
"I have a gun. Gabby and I are both gun owners. We are strong supporters of the second amendment but we've got to do something to keep the guns from getting into the wrong hands."
The couple have launched the action group Americans for Responsible Solutions and called for donations.
Their goal is to "balance the influence of the gun lobby".
They say until now, the gun lobby's political contributions, advertising and lobbying have dwarfed spending from anti-gun-violence groups, and they want to change that.
The non-partisan Centre for Responsive Politics says the NRA spends a lot of money to defend the right to bear arms.
For the 2012 election cycle, the NRA made just over $1 million in contributions to the campaigns of people running for Congress and it spent almost $19 million on election-related advertising.
The group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is also using the anniversary of the Tucson shooting to release a new television ad.
It features Roxanna Green, whose nine-year-old daughter Christina was one of six killed in Tucson.
She asks in the ad: "I have one question for our political leaders, 'when will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby? Whose child has to die next?'"
With a self-imposed end of January deadline, the White House taskforce on gun violence is also accelerating its efforts.
Vice-president Joe Biden will hold meetings over the next two days with victims groups, gun-ownership organisations, sportspeople and entertainment and video game industry representatives.
Meanwhile, America's gun enthusiasts are preparing for a "Gun Appreciation Day".
A new coalition of gun rights and conservative groups is urging people to show support for the right to carry firearms by turning out in big numbers at gun stores and firing ranges just two days before Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration.
Topics: world-politics, united-states
First posted January 09, 2013 10:24:08
US gun control group 'to balance NRA influence'
by Kim Landers
by North America correspondent Kim Landers
Updated January 09, 2013 12:12:48
Gun-control advocates in the US have set up a new group designed to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The woman behind it is Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot and wounded in Tucson two years ago.
Ms Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, have decided to take on the powerful gun lobby.
They say it was a meeting last week with the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook primary school massacre that prompted them to take action.
"It brought back a lot of memories about what that was like for us some two years ago today, and you hope this sort of thing doesn't happen again - but you know what, it does happen again," Mr Kelly said.
"I have a gun. Gabby and I are both gun owners. We are strong supporters of the second amendment but we've got to do something to keep the guns from getting into the wrong hands."
The couple have launched the action group Americans for Responsible Solutions and called for donations.
Their goal is to "balance the influence of the gun lobby".
They say until now, the gun lobby's political contributions, advertising and lobbying have dwarfed spending from anti-gun-violence groups, and they want to change that.
The non-partisan Centre for Responsive Politics says the NRA spends a lot of money to defend the right to bear arms.
For the 2012 election cycle, the NRA made just over $1 million in contributions to the campaigns of people running for Congress and it spent almost $19 million on election-related advertising.
The group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is also using the anniversary of the Tucson shooting to release a new television ad.
It features Roxanna Green, whose nine-year-old daughter Christina was one of six killed in Tucson.
She asks in the ad: "I have one question for our political leaders, 'when will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby? Whose child has to die next?'"
With a self-imposed end of January deadline, the White House taskforce on gun violence is also accelerating its efforts.
Vice-president Joe Biden will hold meetings over the next two days with victims groups, gun-ownership organisations, sportspeople and entertainment and video game industry representatives.
Meanwhile, America's gun enthusiasts are preparing for a "Gun Appreciation Day".
A new coalition of gun rights and conservative groups is urging people to show support for the right to carry firearms by turning out in big numbers at gun stores and firing ranges just two days before Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration.
Topics: world-politics, united-states
First posted January 09, 2013 10:24:08
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