--- title: Gabby Giffords' Gun Control Group Endorses Two GOP Senators description: The gun control group founded by Gabby Giffords and her husband has endorsed two Republican Senators in tough re-election fights. canonical: https://time.com/4461211/gun-control-pat-toomey-mark-kirk-gabby-giffords/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-22T16:04:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:42.940Z article:section: Politics og:title: Giffords' Gun Control Group Endorses Two GOP Senators og:description: Both are facing tough re-election efforts. og:url: https://time.com/4461211/gun-control-pat-toomey-mark-kirk-gabby-giffords/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c39dad16c5174b5/6988a32ce20a878460a921bd/gabby-giffords.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) speaks during a press conference where she joined with anti-gun violence activists and victims' families to discuss the impact of gun violence on August 12, 2016 in Miami, Florida. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Giffords' Gun Control Group Endorses Two GOP Senators twitter:description: Both are facing tough re-election efforts. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c39dad16c5174b5/6988a32ce20a878460a921bd/gabby-giffords.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Gabby Giffords' Gun Control Group Endorses Two Republican Senators > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4a939eac-2a1b-439b-b654-763c13fcbc1c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 22, 2016 4:04 PM UTC  Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) speaks during a press conference where she joined with anti-gun violence activists and victims' families to discuss the impact of gun violence on August 12, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) speaks during a press conference where she joined with anti-gun violence activists and victims' families to discuss the impact of gun violence on August 12, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 22, 2016 4:04 PM UTC The gun control group founded by Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, has endorsed two Republican Senators in tough re-election fights as it seeks to expand its outreach. In [an op-ed on CNN Monday](http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/22/opinions/america-finds-voice-gun-safety-giffords-kelly/), Americans for Responsible Solutions backed Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mark Kirk of Illinois, who are both facing tough re-election races in a year in which Democrats hope to regain control of the Senate. The two sitting Senators voted in favor of gun control proposals after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, where 20 children were killed. “In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Republican Sens. Pat Toomey and Mark Kirk broke from the gun lobby and supported a bill to help prevent felons, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining firearms at gun shows and online,” wrote Giffords and Kelly in the op-ed. It is unusual for a gun control group to support Republicans. Americans for Responsible Solutions is usually more aligned with Democrats sympathetic to expanding background checks and passing gun safety laws. But the group is seeking to appeal to both sides of the political spectrum, arguing its proposed legislation is supported widely as polls show some 9 in 10 Americans favor universal background checks. “With the vocal majority of Americans behind us, our movement has reached a tipping point. Our coalition is black and white, Latino and Asian. We are gay and straight. We are gun owners. We are Democrats and Republicans,” said Giffords and Kelly in the op-ed. Toomey is slightly trailing Democratic candidate Katie McGinty in his Pennsylvania race and Kirk is facing a tough challenge from Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Kirk has disavowed Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. Along with Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and John McCain of Arizona, Toomey and Kirk were the only four Republicans to vote for a bipartisan compromise on a [gun control bill](https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/649/amendments?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22s.+649%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=2) after Sandy Hook known as Manchin-Toomey that would have expanded background checks on private gun sales. The amendment, which needed 60 votes to pass, [failed 54-46](http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll%5Fcall%5Flists/roll%5Fcall%5Fvote%5Fcfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00097). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4461211/gun-control-pat-toomey-mark-kirk-gabby-giffords/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4461211/gun-control-pat-toomey-mark-kirk-gabby-giffords/"},"headline":"Gabby Giffords' Gun Control Group Endorses Two Republican Senators","datePublished":"2016-08-22T16:04:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:42.940Z","description":"The gun control group founded by Gabby Giffords and her husband has endorsed two Republican Senators in tough re-election fights.","url":"https://time.com/4461211/gun-control-pat-toomey-mark-kirk-gabby-giffords/","keywords":["Congress","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c39dad16c5174b5/6988a32ce20a878460a921bd/gabby-giffords.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c39dad16c5174b5/6988a32ce20a878460a921bd/gabby-giffords.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Rep. 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