GABBY GIFFORDS AND MARK KELLY SUPER-PAC TO COMPETE WITH NRA

Obama supporter donates $1 million to gun-control advocacy group Americans for Responsible Solutions

On Tuesday, in an op-ed published in USA Today, Giffords and Kelly slammed the “special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe.” They complained that “Weapons designed for the battlefield have a home in our streets. Criminals and the mentally ill can easily purchase guns by avoiding background checks. Firearms accessories designed for killing at a high rate are legal and widely available.”

As I’ve said before, the Sandy Hook massacre is a game changer. The sad part is that more gun control laws will not prevent such mass shootings.

GIFFORDS ANTI-GUN GROUP GETS $1 MILLION TEXAS DONATION
By Julie Bykowicz

Bloomberg News
January 9, 2013

Steve and Amber Mostyn, wealthy Texas trial attorneys, said today that they are giving $1 million to help start the gun-control advocacy group formed by former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.

Steve Mostyn, one of the top contributors to a super political action committee that assisted in President Barack Obama’s re-election effort, is listed as treasurer of Giffords’s new super-PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions. Mostyn said the group will have a nonprofit wing, which will be used to conduct a public education campaign.

Mostyn said the super-PAC will counter the political contributions of the National Rifle Association, which is how he’s pitching it to other big Democratic donors.

“It’s time to stop the NRA from bullying common sense out of the discussion,” he said in an interview. “There are more options than just ‘guns or no guns.’”

Mostyn, 41 and a Houston resident, said he owns many guns and has a shooting range on his ranch in west Texas.

A long-time donor to Democratic causes and candidates in Texas, Steve Mostyn increased his federal giving in the 2012 elections. He contributed $4 million to Priorities USA Action, a super-PAC founded by former aides to Obama. His wife, Amber, gave more than $1 million to House Majority PAC, a super-PAC that helped Democratic congressional candidates.

“We put about $5 million into super-PACs, and I understand their ability to get things done,” he said. He has contacted other donors from Priorities and House Majority about Americans for Responsible Solutions and has had “a great response,” he said, declining to name other specific donors.

Mostyn said he believes the super-PAC will be able to compete with the NRA’s political giving. Federal Election Commission records show that the NRA’s Political Victory Fund spent $16 million in the two years leading to the Nov. 6 election.