On Monday, a Gun Violence Memorial will be installed
at Bayfront Park.
It will feature 3000 vases,
each one representing someone in Florida
who died last year after being shot.
The installation is being produced by Giffords,
the group formed by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords,
who was critically wounded and shot in the head in 2011.
Giffords will be there on Monday
and so will former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell,
who is a senior advisor to the group.
I spoke with Mucarsel-Powell
and the group's executive director, Peter Ambler,
about how to reign in gun violence.
>>Let me start by saying
that the gun violence epidemic that we're seeing
in our country is a national crisis.
It's affecting families, communities.
It's affecting our way of life.
We cannot continue to see children going to school
in fear of their lives.
Schools should be a safe setting
where children are learning
and parents should feel safe sending their kids.
Families across America,
whether Republicans, Democrats, Independents,
everyone in America is tired.
They are angry.
They are demanding action from the White House,
but definitely from Congress.
We know that the White House can't act alone.
Senate Republicans have become a much stronger barrier now
with their extreme policies blocking any type
of gun violence reform.
And, unfortunately, what you're saying is true.
It seems like there's a certain amount of numbness
and apathy coming from Congress and Washington, DC.
But I can tell you that Americans are not numb.
They are angry, they are demanding action,
and that is why I am so proud to be working with Giffords
in making sure that we bring attention to this issue.
>>It seems as if we took a few steps forward
in trying to pass legislation and make certain moves.
But if there is all this anger
that Debbie just talked about,
why aren't we seeing more action in Congress?
>>Well, there's no question
that this country is experiencing, you know,
historic levels of polarization and, you know,
high levels of rank partisanship.
You're seeing some of the worst elements
of the far right elevated into elected positions,
but that doesn't reflect the fundamental change
in where the American people are at.
You have 90% of Americans
who support universal background checks.
You have large majorities of Floridians
who not only support universal background checks,
but support the recently passed
Extreme Risk Protection Order Law.
This is a country that's united on the issue of gun safety.
But Americans are smart enough to understand the reason
why you're not seeing action on gun safety.
And that's because of the money and influence
of the gun lobby,
which has plowed millions upon millions of dollars
into our elections.
That's gotta change.
And we think that, you know, next week,
we're gonna have the Gun Violence Memorial up in Miami.
It's a stark reminder of the 3000 Floridians
that died from gun violence last year
and that die every year.
>>Well, let me just jump in though on that point
because you talk about the polling that you've done,
90%, you know, abhor what they see is going on.
They want action taken.
But here's my analysis from a political standpoint
and I wanna hear from both of you on this.
You know,
while they may abhor it and they may want action,
it doesn't rank high enough on their list of priorities
to make it that single-minded issue
that they're willing to vote on a candidate.
How do you make this so single-minded for voters
that this is the issue they vote on?
Because until it is the issue they vote on,
you're not gonna see a change in members of Congress.
>>Jim, I actually don't agree with you.
I can tell you that I have been talking to many people,
especially here in south Florida,
where this is their top issue.
Child safety in schools is a top issue.
As you probably have seen,
Latinos, Latinas,
we are disproportionately affected by gun violence.
We are twice as likely, we have higher rates,
twice as likely to be affected by gun violence
than white non-Latino Americans.
And what we've seen and what we have found is
that close to 70% of Latina women want this
to be the top issue in the next election
for the candidates that they will be voting on.
So we are seeing data that is showing us
that Americans from all denominations,
all political affiliations,
all walks of life are united.
>>Peter, let me pull you in here,
but just add this.
What Debbie is saying with regard to, you know,
Latina women feeling very strongly about this,
my fear is that all that has to happen is
that the Republican candidate in the race,
no matter what his voting record on gun rights is,
just has to sort of hammer on socialism and communism
and create fear about Black Lives Matter,
and suddenly the argument shifts.
How do you keep the argument focused on this?
And do you agree with her that this can be, and is,
an issue that voters will vote on one way or the other?
>>If you look at one
of the current political battles happening in Florida
and across the country right now,
the battle for the suburbs,
gun safety is one of the top issues
the Democrats are gonna use to go after those more educated,
affluent, diverse, suburban voters.
We know that's gonna be a group of people in Florida
that's gonna help decide this upcoming senate race,
and then, you know, the presidential race in 2024.
We know that this issue is very important to them.
They're sick of their kids going through
the lockdown drills.
They're sick of the school shootings.
They're sick of these cycles of violence
in their communities.
And they know that one of the reasons
that this is happening is
that too many Republican politicians accept
millions of dollars from the NRA, from the gun lobby,
while sitting on their hands
when they're supposed to be doing their job,
protecting their constituents.
>>This issue of suburban women in particular, you know,
it's clear to me.
I can see
what the Republican strategy is going to be for them,
and it does involve schools,
and it involves the issue of choice
when it comes to mandates regarding masks
and school closings and vaccinations.
Those are the issues.
In other words, empowering parents.
That's the theme that Republicans are
going to clearly be running on is
empowering parents to have greater control
over their children's lives when it comes to schools.
Whether it's in school curriculum or wearing a mask.
That seems to be,
so if Republicans are arguing that,
and Democrats are talking about safety in schools
with regard to gun violence,
those become two very different competing elements.
And I'm not sure the Democrats win that argument.
Tell me why you think
the Democrats will win that argument, Peter.
>>Yeah.
You know,
it's the old adage "don't think of an elephant," right?
You know, where there are areas
where Republicans are stronger and Democrats are weaker,
and I'm not, you know,
an expert in the politics of school choice by any means,
but I do know that parents wanna protect their kids.
And there is nothing more important
for a parent than ensuring
that their children are going to school
in a place that's safe,
where they're not gonna be traumatized by these,
you know, drills,
they're not gonna be scared by active shooters.
I, you know, went through an active gun violence.
You know, my then boss, Gabby Giffords,
was shot in the head.
But it was, you know,
years later when it became all the more personal for me
when I myself became a parent.
And that is a feeling,
a sense of protection,
that obviously millions of Americans who are also, you know,
very eager voters also share,
and it cuts outside of politics.
You know, it goes to your sort of core values,
not even as an American but as a parent.
You just wanna protect your kids.
And the levels of frustration that you feel
when you look at politicians, you know,
unwilling to join you in helping protect your children is
one of the most motivating things
that we've seen when sending Americans
to the ballot box.
>>Debbie, I know this is a personal issue for you as well.
I know, you know, I know your story.
But for those who don't,
talk about, you know,
what happened with your father and then circle back
and talk about that issue that I raised earlier
about the idea that Republicans are gonna run
on parental freedom when it comes to schools.
And that's gonna be their outlook into the suburbs
and how that will compete against the message you're trying
to send now?
>>Yeah. Thank you, Jim.
And as you know,
I lost my father to gun violence when I was 24 years old.
And it's a pain that I carry with me every single day.
It's one of the reasons
why I decided to run for Congress back in 2018,
and I can tell you that Floridians in my district supported
the issue at the time.
And I think that it's going to be the same
in '22 and in '24.
I have met multiple parents that have lost their children
to gun violence.
And now, I can call them my dear friends,
because it's a pain that really links all of us.
Only if you've gone through it,
you understand that even though time helps heal,
the pain is always there.
And you never forget what you go through.
I've been speaking with Manny and Patricia Oliver
who lost their son, Joaquin.
And he was the same age of my son at the time.
And it's really a deep friendship now.
And we are committed to working together on this issue.
I can tell you, Jim,
that there is no freedom in America
when parents are worried every day
when they send their kids to school
that they may be shot or that they may lose their lives.
In south Dade, the district that I used to represent,
we had some of the highest rates of gun violence for kids
under the age of 18.
We are losing over a hundred Americans,
many of them children,
to the senseless acts of gun violence.
There is no greater right
than the right to protect the lives of our children.