About Gabrielle

A third generation Arizonan, Gabrielle Giffords was first elected to represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in 2006. It is her mission to provide a strong, independent voice for Southern Arizona and superior constituency services for the citizens she represents.

Since 2007, Gabrielle has established herself as one of the most centrist members of Congress. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and New Democrat Coalition fighting in Congress for fiscally conservative, pro-business economic policies. Click here to read more about Gabrielle’s work on job creation, deficit reduction and tax relief.

Gabrielle serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Since taking office, she has fought to fix our broken immigration system by increasing the ‘boots on the ground’ along the border through deployment of National Guard troops; providing those forces and border residents 21^st century communications technology; aggressively prosecuting border smuggling and creating a path to legalization that requires illegal immigrants to pass a criminal background check, pay back taxes and fines, learn English and go to the back of the line behind those waiting to enter the U.S. legally. Click here to read more about Gabrielle’s work for border security.

As the only member of Congress with an active-duty military spouse, Gabrielle is committed to supporting Arizona’s veterans and military families. She is the first southern Arizonan to serve on the House Committee on Armed Services, where she sits on the Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces and the Subcommittee on Readiness. In 2009, the National Guard Association of the United States awarded her the Charles Dick Medal of Merit, presented to elected representatives in state and federal government who have demonstrated positive and lasting support for the National Guard over an extended period of time. Click here to read more about Gabrielle’s work for Southern Arizona military families and facilities.

She also serves on the House Committee on Science and Technology and in 2009 was appointed Chair of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

Throughout her time in office, Gabrielle has dedicated herself to advancing Arizona’s solar energy industry, advocating not only for the environmental benefits of solar power, but also its great potential to create high-paying local jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Click here to read more about Gabrielle’s work for renewable energy.

Born and raised in Arizona, she is a longtime gun owner and strong supporter of the Second Amendment. In 2008, she joined in an amicus brief for District of Columbia v. Heller asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the appellate court ruling that overturned the controversial DC gun ban.

Before her election to Congress, Gabrielle represented her hometown of Tucson in the Arizona Legislature from 2001 through 2005. In 2004, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate. That same year, the Mental Health Association of Arizona honored her as the Legislator of the Year.

As former president and CEO of El Campo Tire, her family’s tire and automotive business, Gabrielle experienced many of the challenges facing small business owners today. She fights hard in Congress to ensure local businesses have access to credit and other needed resources so they can keep their doors open and keep our economy going during these tough times.

Gabrielle’s commitment to her community extends far beyond her service in public office. She has devoted her time as a member of over a dozen local boards including the 162^nd Air National Guard Fighter Wing Minuteman Committee, Metropolitan YMCA, Anti-Defamation League, Beat Cancer Boot Camp and Tohono Chul Park.

She was named Woman of the Year by Tucson Business Edge, Woman on the Move by the YWCA and one of America’s Eight Young Leaders Worth Watching by Gannett News Service.

Gabrielle has a strong background in domestic and international economic development. She graduated from Cornell University in 1996 with a master’s degree in regional planning after earning her B.A. from Scripps College. Between her undergraduate and graduate programs, she studied for a year in Chihuahua, Mexico on a Fulbright Scholarship and worked as a researcher in San Diego studying the effects of Operation Gatekeeper II on the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Gabrielle’s family has strong ties to Tucson and Sierra Vista. Her father served on the board of the Tanque Verde Unified School District and her mother is an art conservator. Her grandparents lived in Southeastern Arizona and are buried at Fort Huachuca. She is a member of Tucson’s Congregation Chaverim and was recently appointed one of five congressional members to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Gabrielle is the only member of Congress with a spouse on active duty in the military. Her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, is a Navy pilot, veteran of Desert Storm and an astronaut with the NASA space shuttle program. Gabrielle and Mark enjoy hiking and spending time with their family in the canyons and deserts of Arizona.

Gabrielle also is an avid motorcycle rider and a member of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus. She hopes to ride her bike to Argentina one day, but for now she opts for Highway 83 between Tucson and Patagonia.