Of all the polarizing issues dividing our country today, guns remain among the most contentious.
No one has perfect answers for how to lessen gun violence in the United States, while preserving the rights granted in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. But it’s clear that the status quo is untenable.
In the past several years, we have seen far too many people killed and wounded in shootings in schools, churches, concerts, nightclubs and many other places across the nation.
Yet Americans haven’t been able to agree on what to do next and on how far new gun measures should go. Still, no one wants to accept the current level of gun violence as a given anywhere in today’s America – whether in Chicago or Parkland, Florida.
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona, who was shot in the head and suffered permanent injuries in 2011, heads an anti-gun violence group[1] called Giffords, along with her husband, retired astronaut Captain Mark Kelly.
The group gave Fox News an early look at a new TV ad[2] designed to bridge cultural and political divides on the issue of gun safety.
The organization is launching an ad campaign to highlight an important constituency that is becoming increasingly vocal in the gun debate: prominent U.S. military leaders and veterans.
The new ad features retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who experienced war firsthand during his over 37 years in Army.
In the first scene, Hertling opens a box on his desk containing 253 cards with the names and photos of soldiers under his command who were killed in combat. He ties the pain he felt on their deaths to the pain parents must feel losing a child to gun violence.
It is immediately clear then that this is a new kind of gun safety advocate.
This ad is one in a series of five narrated by retired military leaders. The Giffords group is planning veterans’ events around the country to foster discussion on the gun issue.
