In an emotional speech Wednesday night, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords spoke of her ongoing fight to recover from an assassination attempt and encouraged Americans to fight against gun violence and to elect Joe Biden.
Giffords was shot in the head and nearly killed during a 2011 mass shooting in Tucson. She now heads a nonprofit advocating stronger gun laws. Her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, is running for Senate in Arizona against GOP Sen. Martha McSally.
In a video shown at the convention, Giffords played “America: My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” on a French horn, which she had to relearn how to play after her shooting. She described her effort to recover from a speech disorder and other disabilities caused by her injuries.
“I’ve known the darkest of days, days of pain and uncertain recovery,” Giffords said. “But confronted by despair, I’ve summoned hope. Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination. I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word and then another.”
“Words once came easily,” Giffords said. “Today, I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out even when you have to fight to find the words.”
Giffords noted that Biden supports universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and other gun control measures.
“He was there for me. He’ll be there for you too,” Giffords says in the video.
