Giffords asks Congress for bold gun control bill

World January 30, 2013

Giffords asks Congress for bold gun control bill

Photo: AP Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously injured in the mass shooting that killed six people in Tucson, Ariz. two years ago, sits with her husband, Mark Kelly, right, a retired astronaut, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, prior to speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on what lawmakers should do to curb gun violence in the wake of last month's shooting rampage at that killed 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Ct.

Show more Show less

More Photos (1 of )

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords says Congress should be bold in writing new laws to address gun violence in America.

Giffords was severely wounded in a 2011 shooting spree that killed six people during a forum in Tucson. She told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Americans are counting on lawmakers to address the problem. Speaking haltingly, she said: "It will be hard, but the time is now. Too many children are dying."

The former Arizona congresswoman was the first witness at Congress's initial hearing on gun violence since the Newton, Conn., elementary school massacre in December. The Senate committee is taking the lead in writing legislation to address gun violence. Many want to re-impose an assault weapons ban and prohibition on large-capacity ammunition magazines. The National Rifle Association opposes these proposals.

Related Headlines

Dems push assault weapons ban
Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used in the school massacre at Newtown, Conn., even as they ...
Sen. King reluctant to embrace assault weapon ban
U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine said that he's reluctant to endorse a federal ban on the kind of assault weapon used in last month's Connecticut school shooting. The newly ...
Obama's gun measures face a tough road in Congress
President Barack Obama's sweeping gun-control package faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill, where majority House Republicans are rejecting his proposals while the ...
NRA study suggests trained, armed school staffers
The Senate gun control debate on the near horizon, a National Rifle Association-sponsored report on Tuesday proposed a program for schools to train selected staffers as armed ...