Giffords airs gun control ad

TUCSON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, said they are appearing in a new gun control advocacy commercial.

Giffords, a Tucson Democrat, was shot in the head during a mass shooting outside a grocery store two years ago. Her long recovery has been highlighted by an emotional return to Congress before stepping down from her seat to focus on long-term recovery and, now, a more high-profile role as an advocate for greater gun control, NBC News said.

Giffords and Kelly have founded the political action committee Americans for Responsible Solutions. The group has cut and begun airing its first television commercial.

"We have a problem -- where we shop, where we pray, where our children go to school," Giffords says in the ad. "But there are solutions we can agree on, even gun owners like us. Take it from me: Congress must act. Let's get this done."

The ad is airing in Washington, D.C., and congressional leaders' home cities: San Francisco (home to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi); Cincinnati (home to House Speaker John Boehner); Louisville, Ky., (home to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell); and Las Vegas (home to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid).