Former Arizona congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords (D) is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, a spokeswoman confirmed to The Huffington Post.
Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will also back Clinton. The endorsement is a personal one, however, separate from the couple's political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions, which is dedicated to curbing gun violence.
On Sunday, the couple released a statement officially announcing the endorsement, calling Clinton the only candidate who "has the determination and toughness to stand up to the corporate gun lobby -- and the record to prove it."
"Today, we are proud to have Hillary’s back, and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her to, once and for all, break the stranglehold the corporate gun lobby has had on American politics -- and American families -- for so long," Giffords and Kelly said in the statement.
The endorsement was first reported by CBS News.
Friday marked five years since a gunman shot Giffords in the head and killed six others at a constituent meeting outside a supermarket in Tucson. After an impressive recovery, Giffords and her husband began to lobby for gun control.
The issue of gun violence is once again a topic of national debate after President Barack Obama tearfully implored Congress to act and announced he was taking modest executive actions with respect to guns. He later participated in a live town hall where he engaged critics of his policies.
Clinton has also gone after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her rival in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, over his stance on guns. On Friday, she called on the senator admit he erred by voting in favor of a 2005 bill that granted legal immunity to gun manufacturers.
"Maybe it's time for Sen. Sanders to stand up and say, 'I got this one wrong,'" Clinton said on MSNBC.
This article was updated with a statement from Giffords and Kelly.
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