Democratic candidates team up for gun control video
In a new video from the Giffords Political Action Committee, eight Democratic presidential candidates come together to call on Congress to back universal background checks on gun purchases.
"Everyone, before they own a weapon, should have a background check, period," Joe Biden says in the video.
Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and Biden participated in the video to draw attention to a bill requiring expanded background checks. The bill passed the House in February and awaits a vote in the Senate.
The Giffords PAC which was founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords after she was shot and nearly killed by a gunman in 2011. It's focused on supporting candidates who will prioritize gun control legislation like universal background checks.
A CBS News Poll conducted after the Parkland shooting in February 2018 found that 75 percent of Americans said background checks on gun buyers needed to be stronger.
The video comes as President Trump is expected this week to confer with Congress about what kind of gun control legislation he would be willing to sign. After the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso last month, Mr. Trump indicated he'd be willing to pass expanded background checks. Since then, he has backtracked and said the U.S. already has "very, very strong background checks" for gun purchases.
Giffords is partnering with March For Our Lives to host a presidential forum about addressing gun violence. The forum will take place in Las Vegas on October 2nd, the day after the second anniversary of the deadliest shooting in modern American history.