WATCH: Sen. Kelly Speaks at Capitol Hill Press Conference on New Legislation to Save Lives and Reduce Gun Violence

Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined colleagues Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and gun safety advocates to highlight their recently introduced legislation to protect communities from gun violence, while safeguarding Americans’ constitutional right to own a firearm for self-defense, hunting, and sporting purposes.   

The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act would regulate the most lethal firearms and high-capacity magazines designed to inflict the greatest damage in the least amount of time, which have been typically used by mass shooters. During his remarks, Kelly highlighted his unique perspective as a gun owner, combat veteran, and husband to a gun violence survivor. 

“Let me start by saying that I’m a gun owner, and I’m a combat veteran. But also this issue is very personal to me. My wife, Gabby Giffords, was shot and nearly killed about a dozen years ago while meeting with her constituents at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. I’m one of the unfortunate individuals in our country who is a spouse or a parent who has to receive that phone call to say—in my case—that my wife’s been shot,” said Kelly. 

Kelly later continued: “In the example of where Gabby was shot, January 8th of 2011. A guy shows up with a 9-millimeter pistol and two high-capacity magazines—each magazine held over 30 rounds. Every bullet he shot out of the first magazine hit a person. 32 or 33 rounds. Every one. This only ended when he tried to reload.” 

Click here for more information and a summary of the bill. 

Click here to watch and here to download video of Kelly’s remarks. See below for a complete transcript:  

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for being here today.   

Martin and Michael, thank you for your partnership on this and thank you for your leadership on this. 

Let me start by saying that I’m a gun owner, and I’m a combat veteran.   

But also, this issue is very personal to me. My wife, Gabby Giffords, was shot and nearly killed about a dozen years ago while meeting with her constituents at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. 

I’m one of the unfortunate individuals in our country who is a spouse or a parent who has to receive that phone call to say—in my case—that my wife’s been shot. And later, actually learn that she had been killed—for thirty minutes. Ultimately, and thankfully, that wasn’t accurate. 

I know the damage a firearm can do—whether it’s on the battlefield or at a neighborhood grocery store.  

And I understand the worry that parents have—especially moms—who have to send their kids to school every single day and worry about what comes next. 

I have a two-year-old granddaughter. She’s already been through her first school lockdown. That was when she was about one and a half, and I don’t think she’s going to remember it. 

But most kids here—young adults—it’s what they’ve experienced their entire lives growing up. Drills for mass shootings, and in a lot of cases: real lockdowns. 

And, like Michael said—like Senator Bennet said—you know, we’re like no other country in the world on this issue. Kids die from gun violence at a higher rate than anything else. 

The GOSAFE Act is a renewed effort on this issue to tackle this gun violence epidemic in our country. And it is an epidemic. 

And this addresses the deadliest semi-automatic rifles that are on the market today—the ones that we see used over and over again in mass shootings. Time and time again. 

And also the high-capacity magazines and the modifications to these weapons, like bump stocks, that make them even deadlier.  

But it does this while protecting the rights of responsible gun owners and excepting firearms that are more commonly used for self-defense and hunting and target shooting.   

Now my colleagues and I are all from western states that have a tradition of gun ownership—responsible gun ownership. And that is key—and has been key to shaping this proposal.  

No single law is going to stop every shooting. We know that. But the level of gun violence in our country is unacceptable, and it has been for too many decades. And there is absolutely more we can do to make communities safer from gun violence.  

In the example of where Gabby was shot, January 8^th of 2011. A guy shows up with a 9-millimeter pistol and two high-capacity magazines—each magazine held over thirty rounds. Every bullet he shot out of the first magazine hit a person. 32 or 33 rounds. Every one.  

This only ended when he tried to reload and he dropped the second high-capacity magazine, and it gave some time for a woman named Patricia Maisch to grab the magazine and two other individuals to tackle him. 

If that was not a high-capacity magazine—if that was a typical magazine for a 9-millimeter handgun—you would have had fewer people shot, and fewer people killed, most likely. 

Regulating these weapons and these magazines—it’s just common sense. And it’s the thing that’s going to help reduce these mass shootings. We know that. The data supports that. 

In my time in the Senate, I have been focused on finding these commonsense solutions. And we can and we must act to make American communities safer without falling into the partisan rhetoric that we all too often hear on this issue. The rhetoric that stops us from making progress.  

Our country has experienced mass shooting after mass shooting, and it’s past time that we look for fresh approaches like the GOSAFE Act to protect Arizona families and kids, and families and kids in New Mexico and Colorado, and in all other 47 states and territories of this country. To protect them from the most dangerous weapons.    

And to make sure that those moms and dads don’t have to worry about sending their kid off to school. 

So, thank you, and let’s get this done.