Gabrielle Giffords, shooting victims, launches campaign against gun lobby

Former Democratic representative Gabrielle Giffords launched a campaign Tuesday against gun crime on the second anniversary of her attempted murder.

The move comes as the debate around gun control was reinvigorated by the recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school.

In an op-ed in USA Today, Giffords, and her husband Mark Kelly, explained that they were launching the political action committee in order to "encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership."

The couple said they were inspired by the lack of action taken by the US Congress after the shooting.

"In response to a horrific series of shootings that has sown terror in our communities, victimized tens of thousands of Americans, and left one of its own bleeding and near death in a Tucson parking lot, Congress has done something quite extraordinary — nothing at all," they wrote in USA Today.

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Giffords also said that the effort was to help counter the gun lobby in Washington, which she said did not represent average gun owners.

The couple visited Newtown, Conn. on Friday to visit family members of the victims of Sandy Hook.

“It brought back a lot of memories,” said Mr. Kelley, a former astronaut, according to the New York Times.

He added that you “hope this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”

The campaign will push for more extensive background checks, controlling high capacity magazines and more dialogue on guns to counter pressure by gun lobby groups.

In other gun-related news, James Holmes, the man who stands accused of killing 12 in a movie theater in Colorado, is expected to attend a hearing Tuesday regarding his booby-trapped apartment.

The hearing is a part of a pre-trial in which prosecutors are outlining their case against Holmes, reported Good Morning America.