Advocates for and against stricter gun-control laws testified at a hearing on gun violence prevention. The hearing was held in part in reaction to the December 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head by a gunman at a 2011 event in her district, gave a brief statement at the opening of the hearing, urging Congress to come to a solution to prevent gun violence.