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Tag: gabby giffords

  • Gabby Giffords is Booed at Gun Show in New York

    While a gun show where numerous “Don’t Tread on Me” flags are hanging up doesn’t sound like an environment a woman who was shot and nearly killed would want to be in, that’s exactly where former U.S. representative Gabby Giffords was on Sunday.

    Giffords attended her first gun show in New York after being shot in January 2011. While the general reception at the show was described as welcoming, Giffords was met with some opposition. Not only was Giffords booed by some people, one man showed up with a sign that had a swastika on it.

    Giffords attended the Saratoga Springs Arms Fair with husband Mark Kelly and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as part of her national campaign against gun violence. Giffords was there to highlight a new agreement that closely monitors the sale of guns at shows in New York.

    “Be responsible–Democrats, Republicans, everyone,” Giffords encouraged. “We must never stop fighting. Fight. Fight. fight. Be bold. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you.”

    While most people at the show were friendly to Giffords, whether they agreed with her stance on gun control laws or not, she was met with some opposition.

    Kenneth Hall described Giffords and Kelly’s presence at the gun show as a “publicity stunt.” Hall went on to say, “They say they’re Second Amendment supporters. I don’t believe they are.” Hall also brought a sign with a swastika on it that said, “gun control made the Holocaust possible.”

    Fortunately, even if others at the gun show ultimately disagreed with the former representative’s views, they were civil about it. Dealer Joe Albano talked with Giffords and her husband and was impressed with the couple. He said he was against the new gun control laws, but “If she can help us, fine. We’re doing everything right here. We’re legal.”

    The initiative Giffords is pushing is separate from the gun control laws New York passed earlier this year that expanded a ban on military-style weapons, limited the capacity of magazines, taxed bullets and created a registry. Giffords is promoting a national campaign that, among other things, expands background checks for gun sales.

    Image via Twitter

  • Jared Loughner Sentenced As Gabby Giffords Looks On

    Jared Loughner, the 24-year old whose shooting rampage left former Representative Gabrielle Giffords with a near-fatal head wound last year, was sentenced today to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years. There is no possibility of parole.

    The sentencing took place with several of Loughner’s victims in the room. On the day he opened fire at an outdoor rally in Tucson, he killed six people and injured twelve others. Giffords was forced to undergo extensive, difficult surgery which left her without the ability to speak or function properly for months, until painful rehabilitation was completed. She and her husband, Mark Kelly, watched as he was handed his sentence today and Kelly followed it up with a statement which caused emotions to run high in the courtroom.

    “Mr. Loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head but you haven’t put a dent in her spirit and her commitment to make the world a better place…You have decades upon decades to contemplate what you did. But after today, after this moment, here and now, Gabby and I are done thinking about you.”

    As of now, it is unclear whether Loughner will be a candidate for the death penalty for his crimes, as although he was declared able to understand the charges against him, he has also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.