Gabby Giffords joins top Democrats in Philadelphia to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, discuss gun violence
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With just 103 days until November's election, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is hitting the Philadelphia area hard.
On Thursday, campaign officials talked about gun violence, which will be a key campaign issue for Harris if she secures the Democratic nomination.
Democratic lawmakers and supporters of the campaign met at the Salt and Light Church Thursday in Kingsessing – an area that has seen two mass shootings almost exactly a year apart.
The latest saw one person killed and eight injured on the Fourth of July.
The lawmakers were joined by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011.
Campaign surrogates talked about gun violence still plaguing communities not just in Philadelphia but across the nation.
While police data shows shootings have fallen 33% in Philly this year, Harris backers believe the vice president is the right person to continue that trend.
"In America, we can have a second amendment that's strong while also protecting second graders everywhere – both can exist at the same time," Joanna E. McClinton, the Pennsylvania Speaker of the House, said. "And the only person in the race that believes so that has already fought for such is Vice President Kamala Harris."
Giffords is also the wife of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, is reported to be a possible candidate to join Harris on the ticket as her running mate.