#Former Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords touts Joe Biden as gun-reform candidate

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Gabrielle Giffords
Democratic National Convention via AP

Former Arizona congresswoman and mass-shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords pitched Joe Biden as the candidate most equipped to combat America’s epidemic of gun-violence in stirring remarks Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention.

“He was there for me, he’ll be there for you, too,” said Giffords of Biden in the pre-taped segment.

“I’ve known the darkest of days,” she continued. “But confronted by despair, I’ve summoned hope. Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination.”

In 2011, Giffords — a rising Democratic star beginning her third term as an Arizona representative — was shot in the head at a constituent forum by a government-hating madman.

The attack killed six other people including a federal judge, and left Giffords critically wounded.

Though she defied the odds by not only surviving but regaining her abilities to walk and talk, Giffords ultimately resigned her congressional seat in early 2012.

Since, Giffords has become a fierce advocate for gun reform.

“I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word and then I found another,” said Giffords. “Words once came easily to me. Today I struggle to speak.

“But I have not lost my voice.”

Giffords urged her fellow Americans to summon their own voices to stamp out gun-violence.

“We are at a crossroads,” she said. “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. … Join us in this fight. Vote, vote, vote.”