Two years after former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by gunman Jared Lee Loughner, she sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, during which she and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, announced that they’ve grown fed up with Congress’ lack of urgency for gun control reform, and are forming a political action committee to urge for the changes they find necessary.

On Jan. 8, Gabby and Mark spoke with Diane and announced that they were forming Americans For Responsible Solutions, a common-sense consensus led by gun owners. (Gabby and Mark both own guns.) Their hope is to drive Congress to action on issues of mental health, high-capacity gun magazines, and background checks when it comes to the process of gaining possession of a gun.

When Diane says that the NRA will only rebut that people can find guns illegally, regardless of regulations, Mark replied, “I don’t agree with that. The gun lobby even opposes a gun purchaser being checked against the terrorist watch list. I mean, doesn’t that seem like a common sense thing to do?”

The Happiest & Hardest Parts Of Gabby Giffords’ Life, Currently

Diane asked the couple what the happiest part of lives was at this moment? “Family,” Gabby replied. When asked about the hardest part, Gabby struggled to articulate it, but it was the fact that her injury has affected her sight, making it difficult to see on her right side.

She and her husband admit that the next hurdle they hope to cross is the ability for the two of them to have a quick back-and-forth conversation. At this point in Gabby’s recovery, there is still difficulty in turning thought into speech.

Gabby’s recovery has been nothing short of heroic, and we hope she and Mark are successful with their campaign in Congress.

Watch Gabby and Mark’s full interview below!

ABC News

– Billy Nilles

More Gabby Giffords News:

1. ‘The Protestor’ Named TIME Magazine’s Person Of The Year
2. Gabby Giffords Opens Up About Her Emotional Recovery: ‘I Will Get Stronger. I Will Return.’
3. Gabrielle Giffords Smiling In New Pics! She Looks Amazing!

On Nov. 8, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords will face the man who shot her in the head, as Jared Lee Loughner stands trial for the crime he committed back in Jan. 2011. Jared pleaded guilty to the shooting that left six people dead, and he has organized a deal that ensures he will not get the death penalty.

Gabby was one of the 19 people Jared shot when he open fired in a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket last year, and she has since had a very long road to recovery. After spending several months in a hospital, she was moved to a recovery center. She only has 50 percent of vision in her eyes, and her speech is impaired, but overall she has made a remarkable recovery.

Jared, a diagnosed schizophrenic, is expected to be sentenced to life without parole, a sentence which Gabby and her husband Mark Kelly are “satisfied” with, according to a statement from Mark.

Hopefully this sentencing will bring justice and peace to the victims of Jared’s crime.

What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Is life without parole an acceptable sentence?

– Eleanore Hutch

More Gabby Giffords News:

1. ‘The Protestor’ Named TIME Magazine’s Person Of The Year
2. Gabby Giffords Opens Up About Her Emotional Recovery: ‘I Will Get Stronger. I Will Return.’
3. Gabrielle Giffords Smiling In New Pics! She Looks Amazing!

The world was stunned when Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, 41, was shot in the head by a crazed gunman Jan. 8, and we’ve hung onto her incredible story of recovery every step of the way. In a new book, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, she and husband Mark Kelly recall the entire ordeal. “I often think of how Gabby described that day,” Mark writes in an excerpt obtained by People. “Shot. Shocked. Scary.”

One of the most heartbreaking passages involves Gabby’s initial realization of just how bad her condition really was.

“Gabby was sitting in her wheelchair, tears running down her face,” Mark writes. “She was hyperventilating, absolutely panicked. Gabby motioned with her left hand, waving it by her mouth. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was wrong.”

The book details how Gabby “lost her ability to formulate any original questions” following the attack. “All her life, Gabby had been a woman fueled by her curiosity,” Mark writes. “Had she lost that piece of herself, or was she just unable to tap into it?”

Fortunately, Gabby’s story ends much more positively than it began, though it’s far from over.

“I will get stronger,” she writes. “I will return.”

Gabby and Mark’s first TV interview with Diane Sawyer airs Nov. 14 on ABC.

Video: First Footage of Gabrielle Giffords Since Shooting: MyFoxPHILLY.com

After four months of recovery the first footage of Gabby has emerged as she boards a plane in Houston — such great news!

Gabrielle Giffords has proved she truly is a fighter as the Arizona Congresswomen was spotted boarding a plane in Houston on her way to Cape Canaveral for her husband Mark Kelly‘s shuttle launch! Gabby could be seen walking up the steps of the plane on her own — so amazing!

“I’ve met with her doctors, her neurosurgeon … and they’ve given us permission to take her down to the launch,” Mark, 47, the mission’s commander, told Katie Couric of CBS News in an interview set to air tonight.

Gabriele, 40, was flown to Houston for her rehab after she was shot in the head in a Jan.8 rampage in Tucson by a young gunman who killed six people and wounded 13. Suspect Jared Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty.

The trip to Florida would mark her first excursion since she started learning how to walk and talk again. She is singing as part of music therapy and has had visits from loved ones.

She has not been seen in the past three months but has made significant progress, according to The Arizona Republic. She’s planning to “walk a mountain” when she returned to Tucson after pushing a cart through hospital halls as therapy. She also plays bowling and indoor golf games. Her doctors say she is among the top 5% of patients recovering from her specific kind of brain injury.

People who are close to Gabriele say she the words she uses most often are: “love you” and “awesome.”
SEE MORE ON GABBY HERE:

1. Gabrielle Leaves Hospital And Heads To Rehab — Great News!
2. Gabby Opens Eyes: Is The Power Of Husband’s Love Healing Her?
3. Sophia Bush Opens Up About Her Cousin, Shooting Victim Christina Green

The courageous congresswoman will make her first trip from Houston since being treated for her gunshot wound to the head — she has been singing as part of her rehab!

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will take another big step in her miraculous recovery when she travels to Cape Canaveral to see her astronaut husband Mark Kelly take off on the space shuttle Endeavour on April 29.

“I’ve met with her doctors, her neurosurgeon … and they’ve given us permission to take her down to the launch,” Mark, 47, the mission’s commander, tells Katie Couric of CBS News in an interview set to air tonight.

Gabriele, 40, was flown to Houston for her rehab after she was shot in the head in the Jan.8 rampage in Tucson by a young gunman who killed six people and wounded 13. Suspect Jared Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty.

The trip to Florida would mark her first excursion since she ha started learning how to walk and talk again. She is singing as part of music therapy and has had visits from loved ones.

She has not been seen in the past three months but has made significant progress, according to The Arizona Republic. She’s planning to “walk a mountain” when she returned to Tucson after pushing a cart through hospital halls as therapy. She also plays bowling and indoor golf games. Her doctors say she is among the top 5% of patients recovering from her specific kind of brain injury.

People who are close to Gabriele say she the words she uses most often are: “love you,” “awesome.”

That all sounds pretty awesome!

SEE MORE ON GABBY HERE:

1. Gabrielle Leaves Hospital And Heads To Rehab — Great News!
2. Gabby Opens Eyes: Is The Power Of Husband’s Love Healing Her?
3. Sophia Bush Opens Up About Her Cousin, Shooting Victim Christina Green

President Obama salutes the struggles of the representative and the heroes of Arizona.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords entered a rehabilitation center on Jan. 26, following doctors’ upgrade of her condition from “serious” to “good,” reports The Washington Post.

The representative, 40, will continue her recovery at Houston’s TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation center, a very positive move from her stay at the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, where she’s been healing since Friday.

“Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has made strong progress in the Neuro ICU,” hospital representatives said before the transition. “This evening, her doctors upgraded her condition from serious to good and determined that she is ready to move.”

As the logistics of her transfer were being developed, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address, which offered several nods to the Arizona tragedy. In addition to verbal well-wishes sent to Gabrielle and the other victims, the crowd was adorned with black-and-white ribbons, worn over the heart to represent those shot on Jan. 8.

Gabrielle and her husband Mark Kelly watched the speech on television, and he held her hand throughout the address.

We wish Gabby a continued speedy recovery!

– William Earl