Gabrielle Giffords' Newtown Visit to Sandy Hook School Victims Planned for Friday
Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords plans to visit Newtown, Conn. on Friday.
Giffords, who survived a mass shooting in her district roughly two years ago, was "planned but not confirmed" for a visit, according to Steve Jensen, a spokesman for Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
The former Democrat lawmaker wanted to have a private meeting with some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took place on Dec. 14 where gunman Adam Lanza killed 27 people and himself in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
Giffords retired from Congress last year to focus on her recovery after she was shot in the head in January 2011. She was one of 19 people shot at a political event at a shopping plaza in Tucson, Ariz. that left six people dead.
She has campaigned with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, against gun violence and are supporters of an assault weapons ban.
The day of the Sandy Hook shooting three weeks ago, Kelly tweeted, "20 - 5 year olds gunned down in their own classroom. When will we address this problem as a nation? The time is now."
Friday's visit by the former congresswoman also coincides with the second day of school for Sandy Hook Elementary students.
Giffords also met with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday to discuss gun control urging tighter restrictions on high-capacity magazines and assault rifles, according to The Huffington Post.
Bloomberg previously talked about Gifforrds on "Meet the Press" in February 2012 where he was surprised her shooting had not sparked more action by Congress on the topic of gun control.
"You'd think that if a congresswoman got shot in the head, that would have changed Congress' views," Bloomberg said. "I can tell you how to change it, just get Congress to come with me to the hospital when I've got to tell somebody that their son or daughter, their spouse, their parent is not going to come home ever again."
