Gabrielle Giffords

Many may look at me and see mostly what I have lost. I struggle to speak, my eyesight's not great, my right arm and leg are paralyzed, and I left a job I loved representing southern Arizona in Congress.

I've been working hard: lots of therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, yoga too.

In the absence of a Congress ready to act to reduce gun violence, we will keep working to create a different Congress.

From Texas to New Hampshire and everywhere in between, we know that support for policies such as expanded background checks continue to be popular in both parties.

Music therapy was so important in the early stages of my recovery because it can help retrain different parts of your brain to form language centers in areas where they weren't before you were injured.

While my speech is getting better every day, throughout my recovery, I have been able to sing to some extent.

Music has always been really important to me.

Dangerous people with guns are a threat to women.

I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics.

Even though many couples are choosing to marry later in life, our laws haven't been updated to address dating partner abuse.

As gun owners, my husband and I understand that the Second Amendment is most at risk when a criminal or deranged person commits a gun crime. These acts only embolden those who oppose gun ownership. Promoting responsible gun laws protects the Second Amendment and reduces lives lost from guns.

Some might consider me an unlikely advocate for gun rights because I sustained terrible injuries in a violent shooting. But I'm a patriot, and I believe the right to bear arms is a definitive part of our American heritage.

Rehab is endlessly repetitive. And it's never easy, because once you've mastered some movement or action or word, no matter how small, you move on to the next. You never rest.

I had planned to spend my 40s continuing my public service and starting a family. I thought that by fighting for the people I cared about and loving those close to me, I could leave the world a better place.

Speaking is physically difficult for me.

I was elected six times to represent southern Arizona, in the State Legislature and then in Congress.

Senators say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets.

Be passionate. Be courageous. Be your best.

My spirit is as strong as ever. I'm still fighting to make the world a safer place, and you can, too.

Expanding background checks will help create a uniform standard for all gun purchases and prevent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining powerful weapons.

Gun owners and non-gun owners alike agree on expanding background checks, making gun trafficking a serious crime with stiff penalties, making it illegal for all stalkers and all domestic abusers to buy guns, and expanding mental health resources so the mentally ill find it easier to receive treatment than to buy firearms.

People have told me that I'm courageous, but I have seen greater courage.

Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Too many children. We must do something.

Every time guns fall into the wrong hands and are used to intimidate, injure, or murder women, it erodes the rights of responsible gun owners everywhere.

I'm fighting hard to make the world a better place, and you can, too. Get involved with your community, be a leader, set an example, be passionate, be your best.