Biography
Gabrielle Giffords represented Arizona's 8th District in the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012.
Giffords was born June 8, 1970, in Tucson, Arizona. In 1993, she completed her B.A. in sociology and Latin American history at Scripps College in California. From 1993 to 1994, she studied in Chihuahua, Mexico, as a Fulbright Scholar. After returning to the United States, Gifford studied at Cornell University, completing her master's degree in regional planning in 1996, with a focus on Mexico-United States relations. Prior to serving as a United States representative, Giffords took over her family's tire and automotive business, serving as president and CEO of El Campo Tire, Inc.
From 2001 to 2003, Giffords served in the Arizona House of Representatives; and from 2003–2005, she served in the Arizona State Senate. Giffords is the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate and Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman.
On January 8, 2011, Giffords was seriously injured in an assassination attempt at her first "Congress on Your Corner" meeting of 2011. The shooting injured thirteen people and killed six, including a 9-year-old girl, an aide to Giffords, and United States District Judge John Roll. Giffords stepped down from Congress in January 2012.
Since leaving Congress, Giffords has been an advocate for gun violence prevention and gun safety laws. In January 2013, she and her husband launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, a non-profit organization and super-PAC now known as Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Her husband is former Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly, who is now a U.S. senator for Arizona
For information on Gifford's policy subject areas, committee appointments and sponsored/co-sponsored legislation during her time in the U.S. House of Representatives, please visit her profile on https://www.congress.gov.
Sources: Ballotpedia (n.d.). “Gabrielle Giffords” Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 7, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Gabrielle_Giffords
Speeches
- Remarks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention – Aug. 22, 2024
- Remarks at the 2020 Democratic National Convention - Aug. 19, 2020
- Remarks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention - July 27, 2016
- Resignation from U.S. House of Representatives - Jan. 25, 2012
- Telling the Solar Story - Sept. 10, 2009
- Reforming our Healthcare System - July 22, 2009
- Supporting A Solar Carve-Out - June 11, 2009
- Scripps College Commencement Address - May 17, 2009
- Election Night Speech - Nov. 5, 2008