Friends -

Nine years ago this morning, I called Mark to tell him that I was on the way to one of my Congress on Your Corner events. These were informal meetings throughout the district where I'd set up a table and just talk to constituents about any questions they had or issues my office could help them fix.

While at the event, a gunman approached my table, killed six of my constituents, injured twelve others, and shot me in the head as well. We lost colleagues, neighbors, and friends. Over the past nine years, I have thought a lot about why I survived when these wonderful people, who brought so much goodness into the world, did not.

To this day, I still don't have a good answer.

Many may look at me and see mostly what I have lost. I struggle to speak, my eyesight is not great, my right arm and leg are mostly paralyzed, and I left a job I loved representing southern Arizona in Congress.

However, those are not the things that define me. I wake up each and every day grateful and determined to make the most of my second chance at life and service.

Instead of focusing on what is difficult, I try to focus on how I can improve myself. I've learned and delivered speeches. I've jumped out of an airplane, and even completed a 40 mile charity bike ride, El Tour de Tucson.

But one of the toughest challenges I've faced so far is the one Mark and I took on exactly two years after my shooting -- on January 8, 2013 -- when we launched an organization, now named Giffords, to make sure Congress and states across the country do something to make our communities safer from gun violence.

Along the way, I've learned that our efforts to change our gun laws have a lot in common with my recovery.

Every day, we must wake up resolved and determined. We pay attention to the details, looking for opportunities for progress, even when the pace is slow. And every day, we recruit a few more allies and convince a few more voters. Some days it comes easy, and we feel the wind at our backs. Other days, we are worn down by the burden.

I know this feeling, but I know that we'll persist. I promise you that. This past year alone we welcomed new gun safety champions to the House who passed the first gun safety bill in years. And while that bill has sat on the Senate Majority Leader's desk, I am confident that we will get it passed or elect new leaders to the Senate who will.

I am thankful that we are in this fight together, because that is the only way forward if we are going to keep advocating for change that makes our communities safer from gun violence. And that's important, because change means saving lives.

Thank you for standing with me through the years. It means the world to me.

All my best,

Gabby Giffords

P.S. Giffords PAC works to reduce gun violence and save lives by empowering voters with information and supporting candidates who will fight for safer gun laws. Make a $3 donation today: [link removed]

















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