Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called Giffords a friend who has appealed for the kind of civil conversations many are calling for in the wake of the Tucson shootings.
Gillibrand says the country needs non-partisan lawmakers like Giffords who can work together to solve the big state and national problems.
"In New York families are suffering. They really are having a tough time making ends meet, and so we have to, as leaders, as a body of government, come together and do the people's business. That's what the election was about," said the junior senator.
The issue of gun control is at the forefront now after investigators say Jared Loughner was able to easily buy a gun in Arizona.
He is accused of killing six people and injuring more than a dozen others, including Giffords.
Loughner is said to have made the purchase even after being rejected by the U.S. military.
"I called upon the military, when they reject someone for excessive drug use, they should notify the FBI and put that information on the FBI's database," said Senator Charles Schumer.
While appearing on "Meet the Press," Republican Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma echoed Schumer's concern about guns falling into the wrong hands. The two are also expected to sit together at the president's State of the Union Address later this month.
"I'm willing to work with Senator Schumer and anybody else that wants to make sure people who are mentally ill cannot get and use a gun," Coburn said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- who has argued for years to keep guns off the streets -- took up the issue again on his weekly radio address.
"This issue isn’t an ideological battle, and it’s not about the Second Amendment. It’s about enforcing the law and maintaining public safety," said the mayor. "Too many innocent lives are at stake -- the lives of our families, our police officers, and our children, and all Americans." Continue ►
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