Gabrielle Giffords, a former U.S. congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt, made a rare public address on the third night of th...
Gabrielle Giffords, a former U.S. congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt, made a rare public address on the third night of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday where she backed party nominee Joe Biden.
'We are at a crossroads,' Giffords said in pre-recorded remarks. 'We can let the shooting continue or we can act. We can protect our families, our future. We can vote. We can be on the right side of history.'
'We must elect Joe Biden. He was there for me, he'll be there for you too. Join us in this fight. Vote, vote, vote,' she urged.
Giffords represented Arizona from 2007-2012, and resigned after suffering severe brain trauma after she was shot in the head from just a few feet away.
The now avid gun control activist has struggled to speak since her brain injury and had to relearn to do everything, including walking.
'My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger,' Giffords said as she stood in front of an American flag for her brief remarks. 'Words once came easily; today I struggle with speech.'
'But I have not lost my voice,' Giffords assured. 'America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words.
Former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt, endorsed Joe Biden in rare public remarks on the third night of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday
'Today I struggle with speech. But I have not lost my voice,' she said in the short pre-recorded speech, claiming: 'We must elect Joe Biden. He was there for me, he'll be there for you too'
Gifford was shot in the head from a few feet away in a 2011 shooting at an event to meet with constituents in Arizona. A man ran up to the crowd and fired off a handgun, hitting 19 people and killing six
Gifford detailed in her remarks that she had to relearn how to walk and talk
Giffords' speech was the longest she has given since the shooting, her spokesman told CNN.
She did not bring up President Donald Trump in her speech.
Ahead of her remarks, Giffords is shown playing the french horn, which she played as a teenager and picked back up after surviving her assassination attempt.
Her husband, Mark Kelly, is running as a Democrat against Republican Martha McSally for her Senate seat in November.
Giffords was shot in the head in January 2011 outside a grocery store in Arizona during a public event where constituents could speak directly with their representatives.
A man ran up to the crowd and fired off a handgun, hitting 19 people and killing six.
Among the dead were a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl.
Democrats started off the third night of the four-night convention talking about guns, a hot button issue for many on the left who want to see stricter gun control in America, especially in the wake of several mass shootings in the last few years.
In a short video before her speech, Giffords is shown playing the French Horn, which she played as a teenager and picked back up during her recovery
Deandra Dycus, the mother of a black teenager who was shot in the head during a party, also had a speaking slot as Democrats began the third night focusing on gun violence
She detailed in her speech that her son was shot in the head at a party and now cannot walk, talk or eat for himself
The mother of a black teenager who was shot in the head during a party had a speaking slot.
Deandra Dycus detailed that her son was left paralyzed and can no longer speak, walk or eat for himself.
'In a split second, a stray bullet shattered my family's life,' she said. 'The child I birthed is not able to live his dreams. And that hurts.'
She also bashed President Trump and threw her endorsement to Biden, claiming he would 'care about our pain,' in reference to those who have suffered from gun violence.
'I'm a mom who volunteers to stop this. President Trump – he doesn't care. He didn't care about the victims after Parkland, Las Vegas or El Paso,' Dycus insisted.
'I was a president who cares about our pain and grief,' she continued. 'A president who will take on the gun lobby to ban assault weapons and close the loopholes to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Joe Biden has taken on the NRA twice, and won. And he will do it again as president.'
No comments