Giffords made a rare public appearance to speak on behalf of gun control. (Talk Radio News Service/Flickr)

"Too many children are dying," said Giffords. "We must do something."

Wednesday's Senate meeting is the first aimed at reducing gun violence. Gun control has been in the national spotlight since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that claimed 26 lives, including 20 children.

In the following month, Obama proposed a handful of new legislation on gun control, including bans on assault rifles, stricter background checks and a limi on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Following Giffords was five other witnesses who testified before a full house. 

Giffords' husband Mark Kelly said both he and his wife are gun owners who support the Second Amendment, but advocate for stricter legislation to reduce gun violence. He specifically used anecdotes from the Connecticut school shooting and the attempted assassination on his wife to make a case against high-capacity magazines.

National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre followed Kelly, speaking out against Obama's latest proposals. He called universal background checks and banning assault weapons ways to "serve to burden the law-abiding [and] have failed in the past and will fail in the future."

Instead, LaPierre suggested tougher prosecution of the gun laws already in place and recommitted the NRA's position on armed guards in schools.

According to NBC News, background checks took center stage throughout the hearing, signifying a greater political divide. Many within the Senate warned against using emotion to alter policy, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. 

"The deaths in Newtown should not be used to put forward every gun control measure that has been floating around for years," said ranking committee member Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

The open forum is expected to allow senators to make changes before amending any legislation.

For more of Neon Tommy's coverage on gun control here.

Reach Executive Producer Amanda Martinez here.