Former Rep. Gabby Giffords on Thursday mourned the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and used the shooting to renew a public plea for federal and state action on gun violence, saying elected officials must prioritize public safety over political posturing and industry profits.
In an essay published in Time, Giffords — who survived an assassination attempt in January 2011 — said the deaths of Kirk and others underscore a common factor: "someone who wanted to kill us had a gun." She described a range of recent political and mass-shooting incidents and urged lawmakers to pursue widely supported reforms, including universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders and safe-storage laws.
Giffords framed her comments around both personal experience and national data. She noted that when she was shot on Jan. 8, 2011, 18 other people were wounded and six were killed. She also cited a Giffords organization analysis and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data to contend that gun violence has risen in some states; Utah, she said, has expanded gun access and seen gun deaths rise by 45% from 2014 to 2023.
The essay links those statistics to current events. Giffords said Kirk was killed during an event in Utah and pointed to other recent attacks, including a June incident in which Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband and their dog were shot dead, and two separate attempts on former President Donald Trump's life last summer. She added that hours after Kirk's shooting, at least two students were shot at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado.
Giffords urged Congress to act, writing that while prayers are appropriate, the primary responsibility of elected officials is to pass policies that reduce violence. "Do something. Take action," she wrote, calling for bipartisan cooperation on measures she said have a history of support across the political spectrum.
She cited polling conducted by her organization that, according to Giffords, shows broad Republican and overall public support for several reforms: 88% of Republican voters backing background checks on all gun sales, 75% supporting laws to remove untraceable "ghost guns" from the streets and 81% favoring a licensing requirement to own a firearm. Giffords said the public is more united on the issue than Congress.
Giffords also urged financial and enforcement measures, including funding for violence-intervention programs and additional resources for law enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to pursue illegal dealers and traffickers. She called on legislators to prioritize American lives "over the donations and profits of gun industry CEOs."
The former Arizona lawmaker invoked past victims of politically motivated or mass shootings in urging action. She recalled Judge John Roll, a Republican who was killed in the same 2011 attack that wounded her, and Christina-Taylor Green, a 9-year-old who was also killed. "Their families will never be whole again, just as the Kirk family will never be whole again," she wrote.
Giffords' remarks come amid renewed national debate over gun policy following high-profile shootings. Advocates for stricter gun laws point to state and federal measures they say reduce deaths and injuries, while opponents frequently stress Second Amendment protections and contend policy changes must respect lawful gun owners.
Lawmakers in Washington have intermittently advanced measures addressing specific aspects of gun violence, but comprehensive federal action has remained elusive. Giffords urged members of both parties to "come to the table" and to pass practical, bipartisan solutions that she said are known to reduce harm.
Her essay adds a prominent voice to calls for reform from survivors and advocacy groups who argue that a combination of background checks, safe-storage rules, red-flag statutes and enforcement funding can curb preventable deaths. Giffords, who has limited ability to speak because of injuries sustained in the 2011 attack, said those policy steps are "the single most important thing" legislators can do to keep constituents safe.
The Time essay did not include an immediate response from congressional leaders. Congressional debate over guns typically intensifies in the wake of mass shootings and targeted attacks, and the political calculus for action often reflects sharply divided views among lawmakers. Giffords concluded by urging elected officials to show courage and loyalty to shared civic values by taking concrete steps to address what she called an "epidemic of gun violence."
Her call for action underscores a recurrent theme in U.S. politics: balancing constitutional rights with public-safety measures amid rising concern about the frequency and lethality of firearm-related incidents across the country.