The Senate formally took up President Obama’s proposals to reform the nation’s gun control laws with a high-profile Senate Judiciary hearing on Wednesday. In a surprise, unannounced appearance, Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congressmember badly wounded in the Tuscon shooting rampage of two years ago, urged lawmakers to back gun control.

Gabrielle Giffords: “This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats and Republicans. 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. Thank you.”

Appearing alongside Giffords was her husband, the former astronaut Mark Kelly. Kelly said he and Giffords represent the millions of U.S. gun owners who support new restrictions in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre.

Mark Kelly: “We’re both gun owners, and we take that right and the responsibilities that come with it very seriously. And we watch with horror when the news breaks to yet another tragic shooting. After 20 kids and six of their teachers were gunned down in their classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary, we said this time must be different. Something needs to be done. We are simply two reasonable Americans who have said, 'Enough.'”