March 17, 2015
Elaine Thompson/AP
Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords speaks in support of Initiative 594, a measure seeking universal background checks on gun sales and transfers, Oct. 22, 2014, in Seattle.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle 'Gabby' Giffords, who has become an advocate for new gun control efforts after surviving a shooting in Arizona, is coming to New Jersey on Wednesday, NJ.com reports.
Giffords will participate in a roundtable discussion at noon in the Statehouse with state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera and others about laws to protect families from gun violence. The discussion is part of a two-day trip by Giffords, who was in Connecticut on Tuesday to push for new gun control legislation.
The Democrat was relatively pro-gun rights before Jan. 8, 2011, when she was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head at an event she was holding at a Tucson supermarket. The shooting claimed six lives, including a 9-year-old girl, and wounded 12.
Giffords left office in 2012. She and her husband, Mark Kelly, launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership," the group's site states. Kelly grew up in West Orange, N.J.
Read the full NJ.com story.
