New York, U.S.A. — As President Obama arrived in Aurora, Colorado on July 22 to meet with the families of victims of the tragic shooting, a number of survivors and family members of victims of the January 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona released the following statement:

“Our hearts go out to the victims and survivors of the tragic mass shooting in Aurora. Please know that all of the people of Aurora are in our minds and hearts.

“There are no words to express the horror that the people of Aurora are experiencing now, or that we experienced on January 8, 2011. But words are not enough. We need our elected officials to take action to fix our nation’s broken gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands.  That’s why our group of survivors of the Tucson shooting are working hard to encourage our elected officials to take action. Some of us are gun owners and hunters ourselves, and we know that this can be done while still protecting the rights of lawful gun owners.

“In fact, it’s been 16 months since President Obama boldly outlined his plan to do just that. But since then, it appears that no action has been taken to implement the President’s plan. We look forward to meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder in the near future to discuss how we can work together to fix our gun background check system.

“We call on President Obama and Mitt Romney, and all elected officials and candidates for office to pledge to join us in working to fix our gun laws and help stop the tragic toll that gun violence has on communities across the country. They can honor the memory of the victims of Tucson, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and the 34 other Americans that are murdered with guns every day by taking action.

Their actions would save lives, maybe the life of someone they love. We have a simple question for our nation’s leaders: How much more pain, how much more sorrow, and how many more murders with guns must we suffer before we do something about it?”

This statement can be attributed to the following Tucson survivors and family members of victims:

• Dr. David Bowman, Tucson survivor
• Nancy Bowman, Tucson survivor
• Ken Dorushka, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Carol Dorushka, Tucson survivor
• Roxanna Green, mother of victim Christina-Taylor Green
• Pat Maisch, Tucson survivor
• Angela Robinson, daughter of victim Dorwan Stoddard
• Faith Salzgeber, Tucson survivor
• Roger Salzgeber, Tucson survivor
• Pam Simon, wounded in Tucson shooting
• Mavy Stoddard, wounded in Tucson shooting and wife of victim Dorwan Stoddard

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Washington, U.S.A. — The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC) will recognize former Congresswoman Giffords’ inspirational public service. FMC will also name Congresswoman Connie Morella as FMC’s new president.

The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress will present Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords with the organization’s 2012 “Distinguished Service Award.” The award is presented to a member of Congress who has demonstrated a record of outstanding public service, dedication to public service and improving the lives of every American.

On Tuesday, July 10, at 9:15 a.m. in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz will accept the Distinguished Service Award on behalf of Congresswoman Giffords. The award is presented each year to a former member of Congress who has demonstrated an exemplary dedication to public service and to improving the lives of our citizenry.

Congresswoman Giffords has worked tirelessly to represent not only Arizonans, military families, and veterans, but all Americans. She has reached across party lines to forge bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems. After the tragic events of January 8, 2011, Giffords continues to inspire Americans with her strength, courage, and bravery and perseverance.

January 8, 2011 is a day that will remain in infamy for Giffords and all Americans when a gunman shot Giffords and eighteen other people at a meeting in a supermarket parking lot. The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner killed six of his victims including a nine-year-old girl and Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll. Loughner was eventually found incompetent to stand trial based on two separate medical evaluations.

During the ceremony, former Congresswoman Connie Morella (R-MD, 87-03) will be named president for a two-year term, and the second woman to ever hold that office.

Past award recipients of FMC’s Distinguished Service Award include: John Warner, Bob Dole, George Mitchell, Albert Gore, Jr., Lindy Boggs, and Bill Richardson, among others. A detailed agenda of the July 10 event is available on www.usafmc.org.

Image Courtesy of  United States Congress (http://giffords.house.gov/MilitaryHiRes.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) made an unexpected return to Congress on Monday to vote on the debt ceiling bill. Seven months after being shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona, Giffords recovery has astounded doctors.

House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced Giffords to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Colleagues shook Giffords hand and welcomed her back to her job for the first time since she was critically injured during a political event that left six dead.

“I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what’s going on in Washington,” Giffords said, in a statement from her office. “After weeks of failed debate in Washington, I was pleased to see a solution to this crisis emerge.

I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics. I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy.”

Giffords voted in favor of raising the debt ceiling which passed through House by a margin of 269 to 161. Her office, in a statement, noted that in December 2009 and again in February 2010, she had objected to raising the nation’s debt limit. This vote, the statement added, “was substantially different, with the strength of the U.S. economy hanging in the balance.”

After the vote was cast, Giffords received multiple additional rounds of applause, as Pelosi called her “the personification of courage.”

“Her presence here in the chamber as well as her service throughout her career in Congress, brings honor to this chamber,” Pelosi said. “Thank you, Gabby.”

Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said he found out that Giffords would show for the vote when he saw her, hinting that Pelosi and others in the know played it close to the vest.  ”I just said, ‘I love you, glad to have you back, great to see you,’” he said. “I only found out when I saw her. [It was] a little emotional.”

Jared Lee Loughner, of Tucson, has been charged in the shootings that injured Giffords and others.

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On Wednesday, Jared Loughner was dragged out of the court room in Tucson because of an angry outburst.  After the strange interruption by Loughner, a U.S. District judge Larry Burns ruled that Loughner was mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Loughner is accused of killing 6 and injuring 12 including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in January. He has pleaded “Not Guilty” to the 49 counts. During the hearing, Loughner stated, “Thank you for the freak show. She died in front of me.” His words were loud but mumbled, and it wasn’t clear who he was talking about.

The decision means that Loughner will be held in a federal facility for four months in order to restore his competency.  When he is considered competent, he will face trial.  If he is not mentally competent at the end of his stay, the length of time will be extended.  This can be done repeatedly with no time limit. If psychiatrists eventually decide that Loughner’s mental competency cannot be restored, it will be up to the judge whether competency can be restored.   If the judge decides there’s no likelihood of restoration, the judge can dismiss the charges against him. In that case, state and federal authorities can petition to have him civilly committed and could seek to extend that commitment repeatedly, said Heather Williams, a federal public defender in Tucson who isn’t involved in the Loughner case.

Loughner has already spent five weeks in March and April at a federal facility in Springfield, Mo., where he was examined by two court-appointed mental health professionals. The two were asked to determine whether Loughner understands the consequences of the case against him.  The competency reports have not been released.

After the outburst, two marshals standing behind Loughner’s chair grabbed him by each arm and led him from the courtroom. A short recess was held and Loughner returned when he calmed down.  Judge Burns gave him the choice of staying for the proceedings or watching in another room on the closed circuit television.

Loughner’s lawyers haven’t said whether they intend to present an insanity defense. But they noted in court filings that his mental condition will likely be a central issue at trial and described him as a “gravely mentally ill man.”

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