FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2017, file photo, a memorial displaying 58 crosses by Greg Zanis stands at the Welcome To Las Vegas Sign in Las Vegas. Each cross has the name of a victim killed during the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Two prominent gun safety organizations say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2019, the day after the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. March For Our Lives and the Giffords group told The Associated Press that the forum is the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls. (Mikayla Whitmore/Las Vegas Sun via AP, File)
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Two prominent gun control organizations said Thursday that they will host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, the day after the city marks the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The Giffords group and March For Our Lives said the forum focused on gun violence will be the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls and will be open to all candidates who meet the Democratic National Committee's polling and fundraising thresholds for the September debate.
The organizations did not yet have details on which candidates would be attending. They have until Aug. 28 to qualify for the September debate.
Guns are a complex issue in Nevada, an early voting state that will be the third in the U.S. to weigh in on the 2020 Democratic field. Firearms and gun culture are popular in the Western swing state, which hosts the gun industry's biggest annual conference and counts Democrats among local gun owners.
But the state became the home of a grim milestone on Oct. 1, 2017, when a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. The shooting killed 58 people, injured hundreds of others and spurred state officials to make new calls to toughen gun control measures.
Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona and went on to form the Giffords organization, said the forum will give the candidates an important opportunity to talk about how they're going to make the country safer.
"If we're serious about tackling the biggest problems facing our country, we need serious conversations about solutions," she said in a statement.
David Hogg, a survivor of the last year's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and co-founder of March for Our Lives, said the groups want to see the candidates in Las Vegas discuss "bold and holistic plans" that tackle all aspects of gun violence, including suicides and other shootings that don't receive as much attention as mass attacks.
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2019, file photo, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, speaks during a news conference to announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation to expand background checks for sales and transfers of firearms, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Two prominent gun safety organizations say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, the day after the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. March For Our Lives and the Giffords group told The Associated Press that the forum is the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this March 24, 2018, file photo, David Hogg, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., raises his fist after speaking during the March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control in Washington. March For Our Lives and the Giffords group, two prominent gun safety organizations, say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2019, the day after the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The organizations told The Associated Press that the forum focused on gun violence will be the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls and will be open to all candidates who meet the Democratic National Committeeâs polling and fundraising thresholds for the September debate. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this March 24, 2018 file photo, protesters fill Pennsylvania Avenue, as seen from the Newseum, during the March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control in Washington. March For Our Lives and the Giffords group, two prominent gun safety organizations say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2019, the day after the second anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting. The organizations told The Associated Press that the forum focused on gun violence is the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2018, file photo, students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus. March For Our Lives, co-founded by a survivor of the Parkland shooting, and the Giffords group, formed by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona, say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2019, the day after the second anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting. The prominent gun safety organizations told The Associated Press that the forum focused on gun violence is the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2011, file photo, impromptu memorials to the victims of a mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left multiple people dead and over a dozen wounded, including then U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are displayed outside University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. The Giffords group and March For Our Lives, two prominent gun safety organizations say they'll host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2019, the day after the second anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting. The organizations told The Associated Press that the forum focused on gun violence is the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls. (David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star via AP, File)
The Associated Press