shocking number there to see support that legislation that got out of the house. is that where the momentum is, on the side of republicans? is it the nro or is it the voters in the states that want no part of any gun legislation? reporter: the thing is about the nra, people talk about the nra money, that s a piece of it, but it has to do with their grassroots efforts. they re able to mobilize people. that s why you see groups like every town for gun safety. congresswoman gifford s group. for the longest time, people didn t vote based on wanting more gun regulations but the ore side of the issue when you are a second amendment person, people are single issue voters on that issue. the fact that the other side has been mobilizing as much, that remains to be seen.
i m very proud to be a member of the congress. and i m proud to serve with people like mike did. they went to dinner last night to talk about how to bridge the partisan divide and reflect on their friend steve. i should tell you the historical record is actually tied 39-39 and no matter what side wins tonight, no representative will hold back in telling you how they feel, like they are all part of the same team. at national park. thanks so much. i m reminded, look, these members of congress, being elected to congress is a public service. they are serving the country and we should never lose sight of that. now, the last time before yesterday that a member of congress was shot was back in 2011. gabby gifford in arizona.
through his through his violent past, through his police records. was any of it enough, though, to be a red flag? well, you know, that is a challenge. i was the senate sergeant of arms when congresswoman giffords was shot and we all struggled with the issue of the things that came out afterwards, that that shooter was not permitted to join the army. he was not well liked. he was kind of strange. he purchased the gun. and we said, if i had known that, could i have done something different? and that s the dilemma. but what he did do after that is work with all the staffs so that when they re putting on events they have to think about not only the logistics of the event, how many chairs, whether we are going to serve coffee, but also be in touch with either the capitol police or the local police about what the threat is and we worked very, very closely with the staffs about sharing information with the united states capitol police when they get messages from their
her aid was shot, too in the attack. congressman, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate your time. i have to imagine yesterday when you heard the news of this shooting, it had to bring you back to a very painful moment. it was it like for you to hear the news? well, when i did hear it, i woke up to lots of e-mails and text messages to tell me what had happened and immediately my mind went back to that terrible day on january 8th, 2011 when i saw congresswoman gifford shot. in the end 19 people were shot and six good citizens died, including my deputy, gain zimmerman. it was a horrible day and what happened at the baseball field when they were practicing brought me right back to that. the other thing that i thought about almost right away was the families. i remember after i got out of the hospital and was able to talk with my family about what
that s the way to go forward. when i was shot afterwards, my family and i created the fund for civility, respect and understanding. that s what we re about. one of the sad bits of history, though, is that there were similar calls like this after gabby gifford was shot in 2011 and we still got to the point where we are right now. why somehow would you have more hope? i am the eternal optimist. that s probably why. i do know that we re at a point where it has gotten so bad that i hope the american people are going to say enough is enough. we need leadership from below as well as from above. we need americans to say we re not going to put up this any longer. we are not going to elect people who choose to personally attack people they are running against. we can get through the political process without that and i am calling on everyone, both citizen voters as well as