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Giffords Meets With Families Of Sandy Hook Victims In Newtown

NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords visited Newtown, Conn. Friday to meet privately with the families of the victims of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Giffords met with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Newtown's first selectman, according to Sue Marcinek, an assistant to the selectman. Giffords was accompanied by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.

She also met with families of some of the Newtown victims, according to Steve Jensen, a spokesman for Wyman.

Giffords' visit comes one day after Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the creation of an advisory commission that will review and recommend changes to state laws and policies on issues including gun control in the wake of the Dec. 14 rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Giffords was left partially blind, with a paralyzed right arm and brain injury, when a gunman opened fire at a constituent meet-and-greet outside a Tucson grocery store on Jan. 8, 2011. Arizona's chief federal judge and five others were killed and 12 people, in addition to Giffords, were wounded.

Since her remarkable recovery, Giffords has become an advocate for stricter laws on the sale of guns and ammunition.

The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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