Gabby Giffords Talks Gun Control During 'Rights And Responsibilities' Tour

Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is taking bigger strides in the fight for gun control as she met with the Newtown families this week in New Hampshire. She's traveled 8,000 miles this week alongside her husband as part of a political tour where she hopes to encourage sound reform ideas and discussion as well as prompting legislators to act, the Associated Press reported.

Giffords, 43, was shot in the head in 2011 while making an appearance at a shopping center parking lot. The attack led to the deaths of six others. Since then, her story has been used to attempt to spur quick action from legislators on gun deaths and violence. She has since strongly spoken out about the importance of gun control, encouraging leaders to defy the National Rifle Assocation. While on her visit with the Newtown families --parents and loved ones of those who were killed in the nation's most recent school shooting in which 20 young children were killed at an elementary school -- she listened quietly. Her husband, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut, offered consolation.

"I don't think any of us thought this was going to be easy," Kelly told three parents of children killed in the Newtown school shootings. "This is not going to be a quick fix. But we're trying."

The couple is on a seven-states-in-seven-days tour where the two are meeting with supporters, opponents, victims of gun violence and legislators to get the country on the path for comprehensive, federal legislation on guns. Giffords is supporting a measure that would expand background checks before gun purchases, a new version of a bill that originally called for an assault rifle and high-capacity magazine ban. Giffords and Kelly also met with former president George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara at their home in Maine this Saturday. Giffords did not say whether or not the two couples discussed gun control.

Not only is the tour putting pressure on officials, it is further promoting Gifford's recently-formed super PAC and nonprofit. The tour is part of a summer campaign to raise money for Americans for Responsible Solutions and her 2014 midterm election bid. The group is expected to raise nearly $20 million, part of which will go toward television ads and further campaigning.

The couple is also purchasing -- and firing -- guns to get their point across. Kelly purchased a gun in New Hampshire -- which is perhaps his sixth or seventh gun in total -- this Friday after a background check that took less than five minutes. He and Giffords tested the gun at a nearby shooting range. It was the first time Giffords fired a gun since she was shot. Her injuries from the incident imparied her ability to speak. The 24-year-old Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years after pleading guilty to 19 federal charges against him in November.

A Pew Research Center poll conducted in May shows that 81 percent of Americans favor stricter background checks during private gun sales and gun shows. Some legislators across the country have poured money into anti-illegal-gun measures, most notably Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City. He spent $12 million in advertisements pressuring lawmakers on gun control and continues to use his group Mayors Against Illegal Guns to push for action.

Legislation is slow-going, however, as no one has budged since the initial federal bill was struck down by lawmakers in April. The new bill has not gained a single new vote since its development. Giffords has visited states where legislators were known to have voted against the background check measure. In New Hampshire, Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte applauded her recovery, noting that he supports a bill for an improved mental health system. Ayotte voted against the background check measure. Still, Giffords was optimistic as she offered a pithy two-minute speech encouraging constituents to stay strong in the battle surrounding gun control.

"We must never stop fighting. Fight. Fight. Fight. Be bold, be courageous, the nation is counting on you," she said at a press conference during her stop in Maine.