A delegation for Hillary Clinton met in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood Friday to talk about gun violence.
Among the speakers were former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona; her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, and South Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.
The group met in a closed-door meeting with community members who have been impacted by gun violence.
In Liberty City, it’s a topic that is at the forefront as the community grapples with ongoing gang problems and shootings.
Speaking to the press afterwards, Kelly said for him the issue is personal after his wife was shot and that it’s also personal for the Liberty City community where “so many young lives are taken each year by gun violence.”
He was critical of a Florida law that passed in 2014 that forbids doctors from asking if there is a gun in the home.
“I use this example wherever I go as how bad our gun laws can be,” he said. “It used to be a pediatrician could ask a parent if you have a gun in the home...but now that is illegal in the state of Florida.
Mark Kelly, husband of former congresswoman Giffords, on #Florida prohibiting doctors from asking about guns. @wlrn pic.twitter.com/wBcgGGx4D9
— Nadege Green (@NadegeGreen) August 12, 2016
Kelly ,who is stumping for Clinton around the country, said that if she is elected she would stand up to the gun lobby and close loopholes that exist in gun laws.
He also took the opportunity to call Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “irresponsible, reckless and unstable" in the face of a gun violence crisis.
Wilson said Clinton’s anti-gun violence platform is focused on the personal experiences of people like Liberty City residents who are impacted by gun violence.
“We have to make sure she is elected,” said Wilson. “We’re on her side and she’s on ours.”
