Giffords brings push to end gun violence to Minnesota

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords brought her nationwide crusade to end gun violence to Minneapolis on Monday, urging women to take a leadership role in keeping firearms out of the hands of abusers.

"Dangerous people with guns are a threat to women: criminals with guns, stalkers with guns, abusers with guns," Giffords said. "That makes gun violence a woman's issue. For mothers. For families. For me and you."

Giffords' visit to Minnesota came less than a year after a bipartisan coalition of Minnesota legislators passed a measure that made it illegal for convicted stalkers and domestic abusers to own firearms.

Minnesota's new law and Giffords' work underscore a larger national effort by firearm opponents to push for changes in areas of strong public support.

Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was severely wounded in a 2011 shooting in her home state that killed six people, toured a shelter for battered women, victims of severe injuries inflicted by their boyfriends, husbands and fathers.

She occasionally leaned in to provide a reassuring hug as several women tearfully recounted the circumstances that landed them at the shelter in south Minneapolis, where the walls were adorned with children's artwork and Halloween decorations.

Earlier in the day, Giffords met with local experts and advocates, and called on local leaders to work together to combat gun-related domestic violence.

Since leaving Congress, Giffords is now devoting her energy to pushing a national measure in Congress that would expand the definition of domestic violence, barring abusive dating partners, individuals under a restraining order and convicted stalkers from buying or owning a gun.

She lauded the work of Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is fighting to pass a measure that would keep guns out of the hands of "abusive stalkers" and convicted domestic abusers. Klobuchar's measure has the backing of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun-control advocacy group.

The National Rifle Association has strongly opposed Klobuchar's bill, which has no Republican co-sponsors. The NRA sent a letter to members of Congress this summer saying the measure is an attempt to manipulate "emotionally compelling issues such as 'domestic violence' and 'stalking' simply to cast as wide a net as possible for federal firearm prohibitions."

Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau joined Giffords and appealed to advocates combating domestic violence to lead the push for the changes.

Harteau said that domestic violence is a growing problem statewide. Between 2002 and 2013, 265 women were killed by husbands or partners; guns were used in 53 percent of those cases, she said.

The chief said an often overlooked problem is the impact on children who witness the abuse.

"How do we break the cycle? These children will now become future domestic violence victims or the suspects," she said.

Sondra Samuels, president of the Northside Achievement Zone, based in north Minneapolis, insisted that violence against children and women are intertwined.

She said patterns of domestic abuse are often overlooked in high-crime, often predominantly black neighborhoods.

"If you looked at a heat map of where the shootings occur, my neighborhood would be on fire," she said.

Police Deputy Chief Kris Arneson also underscored the connection between guns and domestic violence.

For years, Arneson said, police had noticed that many domestic abuse calls originated from areas that were traditionally hot spots for criminal activity.

She said the department may start pairing patrol officers with domestic violence advocates to conduct outreach in "an effort to do something with these domestic violence calls and these gun hot-spot areas."

Several speakers urged authorities to do a better job of helping battered women, who may be reluctant to leave their abusive partners for myriad reasons, ranging from financial constraints to an unwillingness to abandon children or even pets.

At the meeting, Heather Martens, founder of Protect Minnesota, an anti-gun-violence group, insisted that steps must be taken to "make sure a gun doesn't fall into the wrong hands in the first place."

This would include eliminating so-called trade show loopholes that allow people to purchase firearms without a background check.

Giffords insists that women, particularly those who have survived abuse, can make the most compelling case for changing the laws.

"We stand for common sense," she said. "We stand for responsibility. Together, we can change our laws. Together, we can win elections."

Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany