Giffords, who survived being shot in the head by an assassin in 2011, has fought back and now champions reasonable gun restrictions in this country. She and her husband recently founded Americans for Responsible Gun Ownership, which supports "the right to bear arms and responsible public policy on guns and gun ownership".
Caroline Kennedy presented the award to Giffords saying, "Our family is still suffering from the heartbreak caused by gun violence. No one should have to lose a husband, a wife, a father, a child, to senseless murder. But as our nominee has shown, out of that pain and tragedy, we must find the strength to carry on, to give meaning to our lives, and to build a more just and peaceful world."