Hawaii鈥檚 gun control efforts received a nod Wednesday from former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut.

Giffords 鈥� who was shot in the head by a mentally ill man in 2011 鈥� and Kelly founded , a group that believes in the second amendment, but advocates for 鈥渃ommonsense鈥� gun control.

In a statement, the pair recognized Reps. Karl Rhoads and Chris Lee for writing and , respectively.

HB 1813 would prevent anyone on the federal Terrorist Screening Database from possessing or owning firearms or ammunition, while HB 625 would prevent people convicted of misdemeanor stalking or sex assault from passing a background check.

Both bills passed the House聽on Tuesday, which means they will now be considered by the Senate.

鈥淭hese proposals recognize that our leaders can take steps to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners like us and keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn鈥檛 have them,鈥� Giffords and Kelly said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing the Hawaii Senate pass these responsible bills in strong, bipartisan vote for common sense and seeing them sent to the Governor Ige鈥檚 desk.鈥�