OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting, testified Tuesday before a Washington state House panel considering an initiative to expand firearm background checks in the state, telling lawmakers that “the nation is counting on you.”

With her husband, retired NASA space shuttle commander Mark Kelly, sitting next to her, Giffords spoke slowly and briefly to the panel that was taking public testimony on Initiative 594, which seeks to require background checks for all sales, including online sales and private transactions, such as those that occur at gun shows. The checks would be conducted at federally licensed firearm dealers, where people already must undergo such scrutiny before purchasing a new weapon.