Fiancee Of Giffords Shooting Victim Works Hill As Gun Control Group Releases Chilling New Ad

WASHINGTON -- One of the nation’s most powerful gun-control advocacy groups is out with a new ad, and a symbolic new spokeswoman, in an effort to persuade Congress to outlaw magazines that allow up to 32 shots without reloading.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence put out the new spot on Tuesday morning calling directly on President Barack Obama to take a stand against high-capacity magazines -- the clip used by Jared Loughner, the alleged shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Tucson.

In conjunction with the ad’s release, the group is deploying a powerful new congressional liaison. Kelly O'Brien, fiancee of Gabe Zimmerman, the Giffords' staffer killed by Loughner, will be on the Hill Tuesday to endorse legislation sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) banning high-capacity magazines.

O’Brien’s entrance into the debate over gun control legislation carries the same type of emotional undertones that accompanied the founding of the Brady Campaign itself. Once titled Handgun Control Inc., the group evolved into its current incarnation and namesake after James Brady, a top aide to President Ronald Reagan who was permanently disabled during an assassination attempt on Reagan.

O’Brien isn’t the only deliberately heart-tugging symbol of the new Brady campaign. The ad includes the silhouette of a young girl on a gunman’s printable, target practice sheet -- riddled, after 32 shots, with bullet holes in the heart and head.

“A magazine that allows a gun to fire 32 shots in 16 seconds is good for only one thing: killing a lot of people fast; and that’s something we can live without. Assault clips: they make everyone a target,” the script reads.

And yet, for all the chilling imagery and sentimental lobbying power, the Brady Campaign still faces a heavy lift. The Obama administration has convened a series of gun-policy meetings at the Justice Department to cover what, exactly, can be done to tighten current law and ensure that unstable purchasers don't get their hands on firearms. High-capacity magazines, sources tell The Huffington Post, have not come up during the talks.

Comments

[WOODSTOCKER51]

07:52 AM on 05/27/2011

.......FROM THE WORLD OF THE TOTALY BRAINLESS..........WHY CANT THESE WACKOS MAKE A PACT...TO END THEIR OWN.."UNHAPPY LIVES" SO WE CAN FEEL SAFE IN OURS...

[eaglespark]

07:47 PM on 05/23/2011

I own a small concealed carry 9mm pistol with several of the standard 12-round magazines that it was designed for. According to the Brady Campaign, those are "military style assault clips with only one purpose-- to murder large numbers of innocent people" (simply because they hold more than 10 rounds). I disagree. My carry pistol has the designed and intended purpose of defending myself and my family from violent criminals. It is also not by any stretch a "military style weapon". I also note that on their website, they have a message to President Obama that you can sign, asking him to work for the banning of "assault clips". If they told the truth on that page (that my little self-defense gun is considered a "military style assault weapon with a murderous assault clip"), how many people would still want to sign that message?

[eaglespark]

08:43 PM on 05/24/2011

"Ban Assault Clips!" --part 2:
http://www.bradycampaign.org/legislation/msassaultweapons/highcapacity

"Large capacity ammunition magazine" --U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has introduced H.R. 308, Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act to prohibit civilian possession of these military style magazines".

And what is the actual definition of "large capacity"? You will see a reference to the big 33-round magazine used by Jared Loughner. What is not mentioned is that ALL detachable magazines OF OVER 10-ROUND CAPACITY are defined as "large" and "military style". In other words, my little Taurus Millennium self-defense carry pistol (with standard 12-round magazines) would be banned by the "assault clip law". There is a link to a page where you can "send a message to your representa­tive" and again there is no explanation of what H.R. 308 would actually do. This is the truth:

[The term `large capacity ammunition feeding device'--
`(A) means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition­...]

The truth is also this: The designed purpose of my carry pistol is self-defense. We are told by the Brady Campaign that the only use for the standard (high capacity!) 12-round magazine is to commit mass murder-- "they are good for nothing else". That is a lie.

[Stockmanson]

07:16 PM on 05/20/2011

Gun Control advocates reminds me of the tobacco smoke, word and food cops. There will always be people just can't allow others to make life's decisions with out preaching they know better. Liberal Fascist's come to mind!

[Baudacious Buccaneer]

08:09 AM on 05/31/2011

Those who oppose domestic gun control support domestic terrorism.

[ploverinn]

01:11 PM on 05/20/2011

We've come a long way since the 2nd Amendment, whatever its real intent, was written. From muzzle-loaders to AK-47's and beyond. Is the NRA going to insist that howitzers and cannons are covered by the 2nd Amendment? How about nuclear weapons? Where does all the gun-loving insanity end? What are the boundaries of reasonable gun ownership and reasonable gun control?

[eaglespark]

07:44 PM on 05/23/2011

"Is the NRA going to insist that howitzers and cannons are covered by the 2nd Amendment? How about nuclear weapons?" No. And hyperbolic straw man arguments do not work well.

"What are the boundaries of reasonable gun ownership and reasonable gun control?"
I would like to know that too, because some people's idea of "reasonable" turns out to involve banning firearms I already own, and have committed no crimes with. I have a problem with that sort of "reasonable".

[Wooden Splint]

12:43 AM on 05/03/2011

Both sides are misguided. The left doesn't actually care about whether responsible hunters and gun enthusiasts have their guns. People who worry about guns only concerns are urban gun violence and guns getting into the hands of crazy people. Gun advocates should stop feeling personally attacked and help the left craft policies that achieve their actual targets instead of infringing on your rights.

[Gary Strawley]

06:14 PM on 04/25/2011

The sick will shoot people, Their should maybe be a mental test for them to flunk!!

[Boopsie2008]

02:43 PM on 04/24/2011

And that was only 17 shots fired at the target in the video. Imagine how horribly long 32 shots would have lasted. It's really frightening that we are so lax in our laws that we put these clips in the hands of crazies.

[Boopsie2008]

02:37 PM on 04/24/2011

That's a really impressive ad. It's transmits an indelible image.

Good work, guys.

[David Carson]

02:32 PM on 04/25/2011

you are correct--the ad impressively demonstrates the lack of CLASS that the Brady campaign demonstrats

[margaritamayhem]

11:41 PM on 04/27/2011

I thought so too Boopsie2008. David Carson seems to like the idea of shooting children.

[WOODSTOCKER51]

07:54 AM on 05/27/2011

FOR THEM,,,."A TARGET IS A TARGET"............SO WHAT?

[oceanye]

04:45 AM on 04/24/2011

Please don't be astounded - try to understand: The MONEY PARTY controls; the gun lobby is part of the MONEY PARTY.

[hairydodger]

11:38 AM on 04/18/2011

Had everyone at this shooting tragedy had their own gun with them how many dead would there be? It would be similar to a firing squad that lined up in a circle.

[David Carson]

12:58 PM on 04/19/2011

in the 40+ with shall issue CCW--that has NOT been a problem

[Mary Jane Mangold]

02:19 PM on 04/29/2011

lets see your in a crowed and 50 people pull a gun and start shooting I would guess at least 30 more deaths.Do you think everyone who pulls the gun can hit the target?Or do you think some will miss and the bullet will hit someone behind the guy?

[Gun Banner Too]

09:08 PM on 04/15/2011

Support is Growing!

As a violence policy advocate, the steps needed to end gun violence are clear.
The First step is to take advantage of high profile incidents.
The Second step is to marginalize legal gun use and historic precedent.
The Third step is to make some guns seem more dangerous than others, even if they are not.
The Fourth step is to register every sale.
The Fifth step is a robust “Shall Issue” permitting process.
The Final step is to encourage and incentivize the forfeiture of arms.

http://tinyurl.com/4k346he

[Adam Davies]

02:14 AM on 04/18/2011

1) Take advantage of a few extremely rare circumstances to make legal, responsible gun owners look bad.
2) Make it seem like hunting and self-defense are wrong. In other words, the woman lying raped and straggled in an ally is better than the one telling the cops why her attacker has a bullet hole in him.
3) Already happened with the "assault weapons" ban, also know as the "scary looking gun" ban that didn't do anything to stop crime and lied to the American people.
4) Gun registration leads to gun confiscation. Like hell if all of us gun owners would allow that.
5) There is a 'shall issue' permit, its called the Second Amendment. Until the right is taken away by the individual in a court of law due to a crime they committed, gun ownership is fully allowable.
6) If it got to that point, say good-bye to the Southern states and many other states. The right of self-determination is our right and we would use it. Considering most of the military comes from those states, and we have the highest rate of gun ownership, good luck stopping us.

[oceanye]

04:48 AM on 04/24/2011

What is your salary with the gun lobby??

[TomStelene]

11:42 PM on 04/18/2011

Don't you get tired of repeating yourself?

[David Carson]

12:16 PM on 04/21/2011

Tom--I have a suspicion that he is proRKBA mocking the civilian disarmament folks

[RDWidner]

08:57 AM on 04/15/2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-feldman/gun-owners-must-take-cent_b_848723.html

[DGspecial]

10:55 PM on 04/14/2011

Is there no end to how low people will stoop to force everyone to think like them?

[wyb]

08:45 PM on 04/14/2011

I am sure some of the local historians will correct me, but the the high capacity magazine, in a pistol, was used by a crew served German water cooled, heavy machine guns in World War I. Typically, a thirty shot drum was used in the Luger pistole to momentarily supress Allied infantry assaults over barren, cratered, wastelands, while the other crew members, changed the ammunition belt, cleaned the tractor pawls, lubracated the bolt, regulated the cooling condensor, and refilled fluids in the water tank. If the operator was changed out or a casulty, the metal armour plates on his helmet and chest were removed and reappied, for the next round of machine gun fire. Sort of like your NASCAR pit stops. The "high capacity magazine" was , so to speak, an adjunct to the heavy machine gun crew. A run at dead and wounded on a bad day in France, was between fifty and hundred thousand per attack. While some suggest we are somehow still engaged in the Somme offensive, I think not.

[OdinsEye]

09:19 PM on 04/14/2011

"“I am sure some of the local historians will correct me, but the the high capacity magazine, in a pistol, was used by a crew served German water cooled, heavy machine guns in World War I."

You would be incorrect.

[OdinsEye]

09:30 PM on 04/14/2011

Regarding the 32 cartridge mag for the Luger P.08, it was originally developed before WWI for artillery crews for whom carrying a full length rifle was impractical.

[wyb]

11:24 PM on 04/14/2011

I suspect the term "artillery" luger can cast a bit of literal linguistic seepge. Even with the adjustable front sight, depending on the modell, and the elevated long range leaf, the piece would not be up to a French 75 field piece by numerous kilometers. If you were being over run, the Karbiner would have been on your right. Besides, you can thread a needle, with either hand, not just one. However, the "big clip, drum, hopper, magazine, belt, tube, etc.etc.is an artifact of war time, basement Rambo hobbists, and disgruntled civilians looking for trouble. In the interest of human, discourse, I am wrong more than right.

[wyb]

11:44 PM on 04/14/2011

You seem to be missing the mark regarding the big picture. Magazines, drums, clips, belts, caseless cartridges, and rapid cycling weapons are all about killing lots of people in a hurry, not much else other than the petty details.

[TomStelene]

05:31 PM on 04/14/2011

The Brady Bunch are some 25 years too late with this ad. It would have been more effective if they coupled this with their first scare-campaign aginst the Glock when it first appeared. JOsh Sugarmann and a few others decided to call the Glock a "plastic pistol that can by-pass airport metal detectors' which would make it the 'hijacker special.' Of course reality didn't quite cooperate with this assertion. Anyway, if they paid attention to this 32-rd. mag back then they could have had a dandy scare-campaign: the 'plastic pistol/hijacker special with an assault clip.' - Oh no! I so scared! Ban it now before it gets me!

LMAO!

[dennisrs]

07:23 PM on 04/14/2011

Did you know that Mrs. Brady was caught doing a "strawman" purchase of a high power hunting (sniper) rifle a few years ago?

[TomStelene]

07:38 PM on 04/14/2011

Right! I forgot that!

Maybe Bloomberg learned it from her!

[wyb]

07:37 PM on 04/14/2011

I don't know about that. It might become a road sign in some parts of Arizona, out of respect for the fallen.

[David Carson]

01:04 PM on 04/19/2011

just goes to show that the civilian disarmament advocates are hypocrites