‘I Fought For My Life’: Gabby Giffords, Others Share Their Gun Violence Stories At DNC

Gabby Giffords, the Arizona former congresswoman who survived being shot in the head in 2011, and a handful of other people touched by gun violence recounted their stories onstage on Thursday during an emotional moment at the Democratic national convention in Chicago.

“I almost died, but I fought for my life and I survived. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk in one word at a time,” said Giffords of her recovery. Giffords was helped on stage by her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

“So many people held me as I worked hard to recover, including a decent man from Delaware who always checked in. He still does. Thank you. Joe Biden,” Giffords said.

Other survivors and victims were introduced by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), a member of Congress who lost her son Jordan in a gas station shooting, as Democrats sought to drive home presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ anti-gun violence stance.

Congressional Democrats were unable to get meaningful gun control legislation passed in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But in 2022, following another mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Congress broke its long deadlock on federal legislation with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which allocated money for “red flag” laws and enhancing background checks for gun-buyers under 21.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her daughter in the 2022 school shooting at Uvalde, described the day her 10-year-old daughter was killed.

“She wears a St. Mary’s sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room. Thirty minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers,” Mata-Rubio said. “Parents everywhere reach out for their children. I