Gabby Giffords to headline rally on gun violence in Aurora

Against the backdrop of a heated political debate on guns, Colorado Democratic leaders are expected to turn out big in Aurora on Monday night for a town hall on gun violence.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep.  Gabrielle Giffords was the victim of an assassination attempt that was part of a mass shooting in her home state of Arizona that killed six people and left 18 wounded in 2011.

She will be joined by three members of the Colorado Democratic congressional delegation -- Jason Crow of Aurora, Joe Neguse of Boulder and Ed Perlmutter of Arvada.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Aurora Association of Realtors office at 14201 East Evans Drive.

The politicians will be joined by representatives of March For Our Lives Colorado, Ceasefire Colorado and local advocates for action on gun violence like state Sen. Rhonda Fields of Aurora.

The organization behind the event is called Giffords, led by the former congresswoman and her husband. Last week the organization released two ads -- backed by $750,000 in advertising, the organization said -- calling on national background checks.

It "calls out," as the Giffords group put it, Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado to support it. Gardner is up for re-election next year in what's expected to be a hard-fought race that's vital to Democrats' taking the Senate majority.

President Trump originally supported extending background checks after mass shootings in Ohio and Texas this month; the president has since backed away from that position.

On Wednesday, however, Trump told reporters, "I have an appetite for background checks."