Gabby Giffords stands strong 15 years after surviving assassination

WASHINGTON — Today, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, founder of the national gun violence prevention group GIFFORDS, released the following statement reflecting on the 15 years since she survived a targeted assassination attempt and mass shooting. Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others during a “Congress On Your Corner” event in Tucson, Arizona. Following her retirement from Congress and the tragic 2013 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Congresswoman founded GIFFORDS with the goal of fighting gun violence with commonsense solutions.

“Fifteen years ago today, a sudden act of gun violence nearly killed me, and it changed my life forever. Every day, I think about Christina-Taylor, Gabe, John, Phyllis, Dorothy, and Dorwan,” said former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. “We have also moved mountains to turn that pain into action. Since that horrible day at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we have passed more than 820 gun safety laws across red, purple, and blue states.

“Gun violence is an American crisis that impacts hundreds of thousands of lives, but we know the solutions. That’s why I will never stop fighting to create a nation where we can all live in freedom and safety,” concluded Giffords.

Congresswoman Giffords wrote an op-ed recalling her recovery process and the Arizona community members and non-profits who made it possible. You can read the piece here, published in The Arizona Republic.