Giffords marks 8-year anniversary of near-fatal Tucson shooting

PHOENIX — It has been eight years since former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot and severely injured during a meeting in southern Arizona.

Giffords marked the anniversary Tuesday with a vow to “(make) our communities safer,” shortly before House Democrats were expected to introduce a bill to expand background checks for sales and transfers of firearms.

Speaking is still difficult for me, but I don't think I can make myself more clear: Congress must act to make our country safer from gun violence. And today, we will do exactly that with the introduction of a bipartisan background checks bill.

— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) January 8, 2019

Giffords was among the 13 people who were injured in the 2011 Tucson shooting when she was shot in the head. Six people were killed.

The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, pleaded guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to life in federal prison.

Giffords’ husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, said, “Congress has done nothing ever since” the shooting.

“We take a big leap forward today with the introduction of background checks,” he said in a tweet.

The bill expanding background checks “marks a critical first step toward strengthening America’s gun laws and making our country a safer place to live, work, study, worship and play,” Giffords said in an earlier statement.

“I stand ready to do everything in my power to get this legislation across the finish line.”

Several Arizona lawmakers also recognized the anniversary of the mass shooting on social media.

We also remember the acts of courage and selflessness from bystanders, law enforcement, first responders, medical professionals and more that saved lives that day.

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) January 8, 2019

Arizona will always remember:
Christina-Taylor Green, Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman, Judge John Roll, Dorothy Morris, Dorwan Stoddard and Phyllis Schneck.

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) January 8, 2019

On the 8th anniversary of the #Tucson shooting, we're thinking of the heroes and victims and grateful to @GabbyGiffords for her incredible leadership. pic.twitter.com/m2BjEQr6g6

— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) January 8, 2019

Eight years after Tucson, we'll do more than hold a moment of silence. Today we offer a bill to require universal background checks for gun sales. I'm proud to stand with @GabbyGiffords, @ShuttleCDRKelly, @RepThompson, and many more to make this common-sense proposal a reality.

— Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) January 8, 2019

Action is long overdue, but this new Congress is putting thoughts and prayers into action. I'm proud to support this bill, for my friend @GabbyGiffords, for my community #AZ02 and for all Americans all over the country that have been victims of gun violence. #SouthernArizona https://t.co/dM45QjFKCT

— Ann Kirkpatrick (@Ann_Kirkpatrick) January 8, 2019

Giffords and Kelly have long advocated for gun control and responsible gun ownership.

They formed Americans for Responsible Solutions, a nonprofit organization that supports gun control, after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, when 28 people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the bill on background checks a common-sense measure and cited polls showing 97 percent of Americans support background checks for all gun sales.

“Our Democratic majority will press relentlessly for bipartisan progress to end the epidemic of gun violence on our streets, in our schools and in our places of worship,” Pelosi said. “Enough is enough.”

The legislation that was set to be introduced Tuesday was not the first to address the problem of mass shootings in the U.S.

The Trump administration moved last month to ban bump stocks, the firearm attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns.

Bump stocks became a focal point of the gun control debate after they were used in October 2017 by a gunman in Las Vegas who fired into a crowd at a country music concert, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.

A new regulation gives gun owners until late March to turn in or destroy the devices.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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