Gabby Giffords Attacks GOP Candidates on Gun Stance

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords, one of the shining stars of the anti-gun movement, has come out swinging against Republican candidates as the midterm elections approach, and the gloves are definitely off.

In a series of hardball ads, Americans for Responsible Solutions, the anti-gun group PAC founded by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, has slammed into those candidates they believe to be pro-gun with a vengeance, Politico reports.

While Giffords' status as the wounded victim of gunfire from being shot in the head by Jared Lee Loughner makes her almost immune to Republican response, the ads are starting to draw serious criticism from those, like AZRepublic, which considers one them to be "more than hardball politics. It is base and vile. It exploits a family's tragedy to score cheap political points."

The campaign ads they refer to are those hitting Republican Martha McSally, who is looking to unseat Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., and use the grieving mothers of firearm murder victims to deliver the message.

In one, Vicki Walker, mother of Kara Walker, says, "My daughter was just 19 when she told her boyfriend their relationship was over, and he got a gun and he shot her and my husband." The voiceover says, "Martha McSally opposes making it harder for stalkers to get a gun," and Walker adds, "I don't think she really understands how important that is to a lot of women."

In yet another, Carol, of Tucson, says, "My daughter was murdered by a gun by a man with a criminal record. He bought the gun at a gun show without a background check, no questions asked."

The voiceover states, "Martha McSally supports the gun show loophole. McSally got a lot of money from the lobbyists who also support the gun show loophole," and Carol adds, "To McSally, its just politics. To me, its personal."

The AZRepublic opined, "The ad waves the bloody shirt. Takes the tragic killing of two innocents and drops it at McSally's feet, as if she were responsible."

McSally, a retired Air Force colonel who says she has been a stalking victim herself, struck back, telling the AZRepublic, "Countless women go through the same suffering and intimidation, and for an outside group to tie me to the tragic occurrence of a stalker killing his victim, is not only personally offensive, it's degrading to all women and victims who have experienced this pain."

Giffords' group's ads also rip into Republican Marilinda Garcia in New Hampshire, running against Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, saying she has "strange ideas" and "Garcia even opposes closing the loophole that allows dangerous criminals to get a gun without a background check."

Another ad tackles former Rep. Frank Guinta, a Republican who is trying to unseat Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., and states, "He puts politics first. The gun lobby spent thousands to elect Guinta and Guinta follows their agenda. He supports the loophole that lets stalkers buy guns without a background check, no questions asked."

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