Giffords launches gun control lobby group

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband waged war on guns Tuesday, launching a political action committee aimed at decreasing gun violence. Giffords and Mark Kelly announced the initiative on the second anniversary of the shooting in Tucson that killed six people and left her critically injured.

In an op-ed published by USA Today, Giffords and Mark Kelly said their Americans for Responsible Solutions initiative would “raise funds necessary to balance the influence of the gun lobby,” in order to achieve reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings.

"In response to a horrific series of shootings that has sown terror in our communities, victimized tens of thousands of Americans, and left one of its own bleeding and near death in a Tucson parking lot, Congress has done something quite extraordinary—nothing at all," wrote Giffords and Kelly, who are expected discuss the initiative in an interview airing tonight on ABC News.

But Giffords and Kelly aren’t the only ones ramping up the rhetoric on gun control measures.

Facing an end-of-the-month deadline to announce legislation to curtail gun-related violence, the Obama Administration is calling gun owner groups, victims’ organizations, and representatives from the video-game industry to the White House this week to discuss policy proposals.

Most of the discussions about gun control measures focus on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. President Barack Obama supports banning sales of both.

The president has ordered an administration-wide task force to send him proposals by the end of January. The president formed the group, headed by Vice President Joe Biden, in response to the massacre of 20 children and six adults in a Newtown, Conn. elementary school shortly before Christmas.

Pro-gun lawmakers on Capitol Hill contend that any comprehensive effort to respond to the Newtown shooting must include more than just tighter gun control.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.