President Obama hugs Gabrielle Giffords before the 2012 State of the Union

President Obama hugs Gabrielle Giffords before the 2012 State of the Union

It's a showdown on guns, featuring two powerful but conflicting forces in the gun control movement -- Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.; and Wayne LaPierre, the fiery executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association. The two testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today in the first congressional hearing on gun violence since the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last month. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will also appear at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on gun violence alongside her husband Mark Kelly this morning, ABC's Polson Kanneth has confirmed. She will give an opening statement. As of yesterday, all witnesses were to appear on the same panel with Kelly testifying first and LaPierre testifying last.

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Not that I'm shedding any tears for Wayne LaPierre, but this isn't going to be a fair fight:The contrast between the Giffords-Kelly testimony and the LaPierre testimony won't be the only exclamation point at the hearing: the membership of the Senate Judiciary Committee itself includes ardent supporters of a guns-everywhere policy like Sen. Ted "Calgary" Cruz (R-TX) and supporters of gun control like Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). According to Politico , pro-gun control Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is concerned that the hearing includes too many opponents of gun control legislation. She will hold her own hearings on her proposal to ban assault weapons.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM ET and will be broadcast live on the Senate's website.