Former Rep. Gabby Giffords's (D-Ariz.) new pro-gun control group is running ads to pressure two key GOP senators to support universal background checks for all firearm purchasers.
The group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, is targeting specific lawmakers for the first time with the ads directed at Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The two sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will begin marking up gun legislation this week.
The ads are nearly identical to those the group ran at the time of the State of the Union address urging congressional action on gun control.
"We have a problem — where we shop, where we pray, where our children go to school," Giffords says in the ad, while statistics showing high support for background checks flash on the screen. "But there are solutions we can agree on, even gun owners like us. Take it from me — Congress must act. Let's get this done."
The ads come as negotiations on the background check bill have been delayed after GOP lawmakers voiced concerns the measure could lead to the creation of a federal database of gun owners, which they oppose.
If Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) fail to reach a deal by the end of the markup, it will be difficult to include the bill in the gun-violence package headed to the Senate floor.
The ads are running statewide on cable in Arizona and Iowa through this week and potentially through next week if the committee hasn't completed its hearings on the background check bill at that point. The size of the buy is six figures, according to a group spokeswoman.
