Gabrielle Giffords, the former American Congresswoman who was shot in the head, told her old political colleagues, "Too many children are dying" in mass shootings, as she urged them to act now.
Her voice was still a little faltering, the result of her terrible injuries, but her message was powerful and clear.
ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore reports:
Gabrielle Giffords has told Congress they must 'be courageous' in tackling gun control. Ms Giffords was a Senator when she was shot in the head in January 2011 as she met her constituents outside a supermarket.
Six other people lost their lives in the attack. Ms Giffords was left fighting for her life but has since made a remarkable recovery including re-learning how to talk.
Ms Giffords said; "Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you."
Find out more about Gabrielle Giffords and her recovery here.
Two years to the day since congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Tucson, Arizona she has launched a campaign for better gun control.
Read the full storyFormer congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords "would trade her own life" to bring back any of the six victims killed in a shooting in Arizona, her astronaut husband told a court.
Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to seven life terms for the January 2011 killings and attempted assassination of Giffords.
Mark Kelly, the husband of the former congresswoman, said in a statement to the court:
Gabby would trade her own life to bring back any one of those you savagely murdered on that day.
Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy, you sought to extinguish the beauty of life. To diminish potential. To strain love. And to cancel ideas. You tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own.
But know this, and remember it always: You failed.
