Gun safety groups to host forum for 2020 Democrats a day after Las Vegas shooting anniversary

Two gun safety groups announced Thursday that they will host 2020 Democrats for a forum on gun violence on Oct. 2, the day after the second anniversary of a shooting at a Las Vegas music festival.

The Giffords group and March for Our Lives said the forum will be open to any Democratic presidential candidates who meet the Democratic National Committee’s polling and fundraising standards to qualify for the next primary debate in September, the groups wrote in a statement.

It is unclear how many of the White House hopefuls will attend the forum, and candidates have until Aug. 28 to meet the qualifying thresholds for the next set of debates.{mosads}

“If we’re serious about tackling the biggest problems facing our country, we need serious conversations about solutions,” former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head in 2011 and later founded the Giffords organization, said in the statement.

David Hogg, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who co-founded March for Our Lives, said the groups are looking for “bold and holistic plans” to combat gun violence.

2020 Democrats have renewed their calls for gun control in recent days, following Sunday’s shooting in Gilroy, Calif., that left at least three dead. Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) has pledged to take executive action on gun control, while Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) proposed a national gun licensing program.

Other White House hopefuls, including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), have called for restricting assault weapons.

The 2017 Las Vegas shooting, which took place when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert attendees at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, has been deemed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.