Today is the 10 year anniversary of Giffords

I hope you’ll allow me to share some reflections with you on this special day for our organization. [Giffords 10 years of Courage logo]  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ {NAME}, today is January 8th, 2023: The ten year anniversary of Giffords. I hope you’ll allow me to share some reflections with you on this special day for our organization. While a lot of people might think it was my own shooting that inspired me to commit my life to ending gun violence, that wasn’t the case. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was the reason I decided to devote myself to this fight. I’ll never forget the day of the Sandy Hook shooting. Twenty children and six teachers were killed. These were innocent people whose lives were stolen by the actions of a gunman driven by hatred. Like many Americans, I watched in disbelief as the events of that day unfolded. Even though I was in the midst of my own recovery, I knew I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing after this tragedy. At the time, my husband Mark was in Asia. I called him, and I remember the one word that came to my mind to express what I was feeling. “Enough.” Mark was right there with me in his feelings of shock and horror. So three weeks after this tragedy, we went to Newtown and met personally with families who lost loved ones, and other parents who had children in the school that day. That was one of the hardest days of my life. I remember the thoughts echoing in my head after that day: Children are dying. We must do something. With that, the idea for our organization was born. After weeks of gathering a leadership team, planning, and fundraising, we launched Americans for Responsible Solutions on January 8th, 2013, exactly two years after a gunman tried to take my life in Tucson and killed six of my constituents. My goal for this organization—what we know today as Giffords—was to bring together concerned Americans from all backgrounds who were tired of the gun violence plaguing our country and wanted to take action. Although we’ve made progress, we’ve also experienced some devastating lows. I’ll never forget the day in 2013 when the Senate failed to pass bipartisan background checks legislation. Today, we’re still fighting for universal background checks—a commensense solution that would save lives. We’re still in the midst of a gun violence epidemic in our country. Sandy Hook was unfortunately not the last school shooting our nation faced. We had Parkland. We had Uvalde. In 2017, we had the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. And we can’t ignore the daily violence in homes and communities nationwide that often doesn’t make the news. So yes, we have a long way to go to secure a future where nobody feels unsafe to attend school, shop at the supermarket, go to the movie theater, or simply walk down the street. I will not rest until that future becomes a reality. You can count on that, {NAME}. I know sometimes the lows may make it seem like progress is impossible in the fight to end gun violence. This is tireless work, but it is worth it. I promise you. The hardest fights always are. Change is possible, and it’s happening. We’ve changed hearts, changed minds, and changed laws. We’ve had some incredible triumphs since our founding ten years ago. 525 gun safety laws have been passed in states across the country in the last decade. In 2022, the most significant federal gun safety law in nearly three decades was signed into law. But the work continues. I know this has been a long message, and I want to thank you for taking the time to read. Now is the time where I have to make an important ask of you. [In honor of ten years of Giffords, will you please chip in $10? If you’ve been waiting to make your first online contribution to Giffords, there truly is no better day than this monumental day.]( [CONTRIBUTE NOW]( Whether you’ve been with us from the start, or have just joined our movement recently, I want to thank you so so much. It takes many voices to make a difference, and we can only do our work to achieve a future without gun violence through the support of people like you. With courage, Gabby Giffords [CONTRIBUTE NOW](  Paid For By Giffords PAC; not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. www.Giffords.org This email was sent to [{EMAIL}](#). We try to send only the most important information and opportunities to participate via email, but click [here]( if you'd like to unsubscribe. Giffords PAC was started to support elected officials who step up to fight the gun violence epidemic. Thank you for standing with Gabby and the Giffords team.