DNC speakers: What to know about Gabby Giffords

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Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., is set to speak on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention alongside other stars of the Democratic Party in support of presumptive nominee Joe Biden.

Giffords, 50, officially announced her support for Biden’s candidacy in March. Her husband, Mark Kelly, an astronaut, former U.S. Navy captain, and now Democratic Senate candidate, announced his endorsement for Biden earlier in the month.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrives at the 2020 Gun Safety Forum hosted by gun control activist groups Giffords and March for Our Lives at Enclave on October 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Getty Images)

Giffords made headlines in January 2011 after surviving an assassination attempt in Tuscon, Ariz. She and nearly 20 other people were shot at an event she was hosting, “Congress On Your Corner,” held outside a Safeway grocery store.

Six people were killed and 13 people – including Giffords – were injured by the gunfire. Giffords was left with severe brain injuries. She resigned from Congress in early 2012 to focus on her recovery.

In late 2012, Giffords’ husband Kelly commanded the last flight of the space shuttle Endeavor as it flew over Tuscon on its way to California from Texas, in honor of his wife.

Since recovering, Gifford has established herself as one of the country’s most outspoken gun-control advocates. In 2013, she and her husband founded “Americans for Responsible Solutions,” a non-profit gun-control advocacy group. The organization merged with “Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence” in 2016.

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Giffords first entered politics in 2000 when she was elected to the Arizona State House. In 2002 she became the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona Senate, in which she served through 2005. Between 2007 and 2012 she represented Arizona’s 8th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Giffords will be speaking at the DNC’s third night alongside other Democratic heavyweights, including vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama.

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The DNC, which began Monday and goes through Thursday, was set to take place in Milwaukee, but was moved entirely online amid concerns over the resurging coronavirus.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.