Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and husband Mark Kelly to speak at Rollins this week

Six years after being shot in the head during an assassination attempt, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords doesn’t need to use a lot of words to inspire a crowd. Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, have taken their pain and turned it into a strong force for advocacy against gun violence and promoting reform laws. Last year, the couple visited victims’ families and survivors of the Pulse massacre to let them know they weren’t alone in the fight.

“Stopping gun violence takes courage,” Giffords said in a short speech in Orlando. “We must never stop fighting.” It’s not clear whether Giffords and Kelly will discuss the impact guns are having on American lives at Rollins College, but they do plan to talk about how to find hope in each other when the world offers little.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 | Warden Arena, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park | 407-646-2145 | rollins.edu | $20-$50

This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2017.