Ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) shook up the gun-control debate Wednesday with a surprise appearance at a Senate hearing on gun violence just more than two years after she was gravely wounded in a shooting rampage that led to her early retirement.
Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee — Congress's first hearing on gun violence since her shooting — Giffords implored Congress to act immediately to take on the problem head on.
"Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important," Giffords said in halting language as the packed hearing room hung on every word. "Too many children are dying. We must do something.
"This will be hard, but the time is now. You must act," she added. The country, she said, "is counting on you."
Giffords left the hearing immediately after her testimony, and was helped out of the room by her husband, Mark Kelly.
Read more on the Senate hearing on gun violence prevention.
