Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Giffords graduated from Scripps College and Cornell University. After initially moving to New York City, where she worked in regional economic development for Price Waterhouse, she returned to Arizona to work as the CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a family business started by her grandfather. She served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 until 2003 and the Arizona Senate from 2003 until 2005 when she was elected to the U.S. House.
She had just begun her third term in January 2011 when she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and mass shooting just outside of Tucson during an event with constituents. Giffords has since recovered much of her ability to walk, speak, read, and write. She was greeted by a standing ovation upon her return to the House floor in August 2011. She attended President Obama's State of the Union address on January 24, 2012, and appeared on the floor of the House the following day, at which time she formally submitted her resignation, receiving a standing ovation and accolades from her colleagues and the leadership of the House.
Gabrielle Dee Giffords was born on June 8, 1970 and grew up in Tucson, Arizona;[1] her parents were Gloria Kay (née Fraser) and Spencer J. Giffords. She was raised in a mixed religious environment, as her mother was a Christian Scientist and her father was Jewish. Her paternal grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was a Jewish emigrant from Lithuania who changed his name to Giffords to avoid anti-Semitism in the United States.[2] Through her father, Giffords is a second cousin of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.[3]
Giffords worked as an associate for regional economic development at Price Waterhouse in New York City. In 1996, she became president and CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local chain of auto service centers founded by her grandfather. The business was sold to Goodyear Tire in 2000. At the time of the sale, she commented on the difficulties local businesses face when competing against large national firms.[6]
Since 2001, she has practiced Judaism exclusively and belongs to Congregation Chaverim, a Reform synagogue, in Tucson.[7][8]
Arizona legislature
Elections
Giffords switched her party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in 2000 and was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2001.[9] She was elected to the Arizona Senate in the fall of 2002, at the time the youngest woman elected to that body. She took office in January 2003 and was re-elected in 2004. She resigned from the Arizona Senate on December 1, 2005, in preparation for her congressional campaign.
Tenure
In early 2005, Giffords observed that "the 2004 election took its toll on our bipartisan coalition" and that as a result "a number of significant problems will receive far less attention than they deserve." She highlighted among these, the lack of high-paying jobs or necessary infrastructure, rapid growth, and inward migration that threatened the environment and "strain[ed]... education, health care, and transportation", and unresolved problems such as Students First; Arnold v. Sarn; repayments due under Ladewig v. Arizona; the No Child Left Behind mandate; low educational achievement; health care costs; and the demands of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. She said that Arizona was not alone in facing such challenges.[10]
Expanding health care access was an issue pursued by Giffords when she served in the legislature. She also pushed for bills related to mental health and was named by the Mental Health Association of Arizona as the 2004 Legislator of the Year. Giffords earned the Sierra Club's Most Valuable Player award.[11]
In the legislature, Giffords worked on the bipartisan Children's Caucus, which sought to improve education and health care for Arizona's children. Critics of this plan argued that it amounted to taxpayer-funded daycare. She worked with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to promote all-day kindergarten. Giffords supported raising more money for schools "through sponsorship of supplemental state aid through bonds and tax credits that could be used for school supplies." She was awarded Arizona Family Literacy's Outstanding Legislator for 2003.[12]
Giffords launched her first candidacy for the U.S.Congress on January 24, 2006. The campaign received national attention early on as the seat was considered a likely pick-up for the Democratic Party. Prominent Democrats, including Tom Daschle, Robert Reich, Janet Napolitano, and Bill Clinton, endorsed her. EMILY's List endorsed Giffords early in the campaign cycle.[13] The Sierra Club and the Arizona Education Association also endorsed her.[14] On September 12, 2006, Giffords won her party's nomination in the primary election.
Her Republican opponent in the general election was Randy Graf, a conservative former state senator known for his enforcement-only position on immigration and illegal aliens. Graf had run against Jim Kolbe in the 2004GOP primary and had announced his candidacy in 2006 before Kolbe announced his retirement. The Republican establishment was somewhat cool toward Graf, believing he might be too conservative for the district. The national GOP took the unusual step of endorsing one of the more moderate candidates in the primary. Graf won anyway, helped by a split in the Republican moderate vote between two candidates.
Not long after the primary, Congressional Quarterly changed its rating of the race to "Leans Democrat". By late September, the national GOP had pulled most of its funding, effectively conceding the seat to Giffords. Giffords won the race on November 7, 2006, with 54 percent of the vote. Graf received 42 percent. The rest of the vote went to minor candidates. Giffords's victory was portrayed as evidence that Americans are accepting towards comprehensive immigration reform.[15] She was the first Jewish woman elected to Congress from Arizona.[16][17]
In 2008, Giffords was elected to a second term. Republican Tim Bee, a childhood classmate and former colleague in the Arizona State Senate, ran against her. Bee was the President of the Arizona State Senate and considered a strong challenger in this race. Despite native son John McCain's running as the Republican presidential candidate, Giffords was reelected with 56.20 percent of the vote to Bee's 41.45 percent.[18]
2010
Giffords during a press conference following her 2010 election victory
On November 5, 2010, Giffords was declared the victor after a close race against Republican Jesse Kelly.[19] Kelly, an Iraq War veteran (and not related to Mark Kelly), was listed as a top-ten Tea Party candidate to watch by Politico, and described by The Arizona Republic as highly conservative even compared to Sarah Palin.[20] Giffords had been targeted for defeat by Sarah Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC.[21]
Following the November 2006 election, Giffords was sworn in as a congresswoman on January 3, 2007. She was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to serve in the U.S.Congress. In her inaugural speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Giffords advocated a comprehensive immigration reform package, including modern technology to secure the border, more border patrol agents, tough employer sanctions for businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and a guest-worker program.[24] In her first month in office, Giffords voted in favor of increased federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research;[25] raising the minimum wage;[26] endorsing the 9/11 Commission recommendations;[26] new rules for the House of Representatives targeting ethical issues;[27] and the repeal of $14billion of subsidies to big oil companies, in favor of renewable energy subsidies and the founding of the Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve.[26]
During the 2007 session of Congress, Giffords introduced a bill (H.R. 1441)[28] that forbids the sale of F-14 aircraft parts on the open market to prevent them from being acquired by Iran.[29] Giffords advocated for a national day of recognition for cowboys as one of her first actions.[30] She voted for the contentious May 2007 Iraq Emergency Supplemental Spending bill, saying, "I cannot, in good conscience, allow the military to run out of money while American servicemen and women are being attacked every day".[31] She has also been a Girl Scout supporter for many years. On April 21, 2007 (the same day Giffords hosted her third "Congress on Your Corner" in Tucson, Arizona) she also spoke at the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council Annual Meeting.[32][33]
In the 2011 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election, Giffords was one of 18 Democrats to cast their vote for someone other than Nancy Pelosi (the leader of the House Democratic Caucus). Giffords cast her vote for Congressman John Lewis.[34] Arizona's two other Democratic House members voted for Pelosi. Giffords's spokesperson characterized her vote for Lewis, "signal[ing] her desire for courageous leadership and high moral standards at a critical time in our nation’s history," citing Lewis as being, "one of our nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders and a hero to all Americans."[35]
On January 8, 2011, Giffords was shot in the head[38] outside a Safeway grocery store in Casas Adobes, Arizona, a suburban area northwest of Tucson, during her first "Congress on Your Corner" (a public opportunity for constituents to speak directly with their representatives)[39] gathering of the year.[40] A man ran up to the crowd and began firing a 9mm pistol with a 33-round magazine.[41][42] The gunman hit 19 individuals with gunfire, killing six of them.[43] Among the dead were federal judge John Roll and 9-year-old child Christina-Taylor Green. Green was the granddaughter of MLB baseball manager and GMDallas Green.[44][45][46] A 20th person was injured at the scene, but not by gunfire.[38][43]
The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner,[47] was detained by bystanders until he was taken into police custody.[48][49] Federal officials charged Loughner on the next day with killing federal government employees, attempting to assassinate a member of Congress, and attempting to kill federal employees.[50][51][52] After eventually facing more than 50 federal criminal charges, Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 of them in a plea bargain to avoid a death sentence.[53]
Giffords's intern, Daniel Hernández Jr., provided first-aid assistance to her immediately after she was wounded, and is credited with saving her life.[54] She was quickly evacuated to the University Medical Center of Tucson in critical condition,[55] though she was still conscious and "following commands".[38]
On the same day doctors performed emergency surgery to extract skull fragments and a small amount of necrotic tissue from her brain.[56] The bullet passed through Giffords's head without crossing the midline of the brain, where the most critical injuries typically result.[38]Part of her skull was removed to avoid further damage to the brain from pressure caused by swelling.[57] Doctors who first treated Giffords said the bullet entered the back of her head and exited through the front of her skull, but physicians later concluded that it had traveled in the opposite direction.[58]
Upon receiving a call from a staffer about Giffords's injury, her husband Mark Kelly and his daughters flew in a friend's aircraft directly from Houston to Tucson.[59][60]
Recovery
Giffords was initially placed in an induced coma to allow her brain to rest. She was able to respond to simple commands when periodically awakened, but was unable to speak as she was on a ventilator.[61] Nancy Pelosi (the House minority leader) shared that Giffords's husband Mark Kelly had acknowledged that there was a "rough road ahead" in her recovery, but that he was encouraged by her responsiveness,[62] including her ability to signal with her hand and move both arms.[63] U.S. Army neurologist Geoffrey Ling of the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, was sent to Tucson to consult on Giffords's condition. Ling stated, "Her prognosis for maintaining the function that she has is very good. It's over 50 percent."[64] On January 11, neurosurgeon G. Michael Lemole Jr. said that Giffords's sedation had been reduced and that she could breathe on her own.[65] On January 12, President Barack Obama visited Giffords at the medical center and publicly stated in an evening memorial ceremony that she had "opened her eyes for the first time" that day.[66] Shortly after the shootings, some questions were raised by the media as to whether Giffords could be removed from office under a state law that allows a public office to be declared vacant if the officeholder is absent for three months, but a spokesperson for the Arizona secretary of state said the statute "doesn't apply to federal offices" and was, therefore, not relevant.[67]
As Giffords's status improved, by mid-January she began simple physical therapy,[68] including sitting up with the assistance of hospital staff and moving her legs upon command.[68][60] On January 15, surgeons performed a tracheotomy, replacing the ventilator tube with a smaller one inserted through Giffords's throat to assist independent breathing.[69][70] Ophthalmologist Lynn Polonski surgically repaired Giffords's damaged eye socket,[71] with additional reconstructive surgery to follow.[72] Giffords's condition improved from "critical" to "serious" on January 17,[73] and to "good" on January 25.[74] She was transferred on January 21 to the Memorial Hermann Medical Center in Houston, Texas, where she subsequently moved to the TIRR Memorial Hermann to undergo a program of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.[74][75] Medical experts' initial assessment in January was that Giffords's recovery could take from several months to more than one year.[76] Upon her arrival in Houston, her doctors were optimistic, saying she has "great rehabilitation potential".[77]
On March 12, 2011, Giffords's husband informed her that six other people had been killed in the attack on her, but he did not identify who they were until months later.[78] In late April, Giffords's doctors reported that her physical, cognitive, and language production abilities had improved significantly, placing her in the top 5 percent of patients recovering from similar injuries.[79] She was walking under supervision with perfect control of her left arm and leg, and able to write with her left hand. She was able to read and understand, and spoke in short phrases. With longer efforts, she was able to produce more complex sentences.[79]
From early in her recovery, Giffords's husband had expressed confidence that she would be able to travel to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to witness the launch of his final Space Shuttle mission, STS-134, which was scheduled for April 2011.[80] On April 25, Giffords's doctors cleared her for travel to Florida for the launch, scheduled for April 29. She went to Florida to watch from a private family area with no public appearance or photography. The launch of STS-134 was delayed due to mechanical problems, and Giffords and Kelly returned to Houston after meeting with President Obama, who had also planned to see the launch with his family at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).[81][82]
After continuing her rehabilitation therapy in Houston,[83][84] Giffords returned to KSC for her husband's launch on May 16, 2011. Kelly wore his wife's wedding ring into space, which she had exchanged for his.[85]
August 1, 2011: Giffords's first appearance in the House of Representatives since her attempted assassination
Giffords underwent cranioplasty surgery on May 18, 2011, to replace the part of her skull that had been removed in January to permit her brain to swell after the gunshot to her head. Surgeons replaced the bone with a piece of molded hard plastic, fixed with tiny screws. They expected that her skull would eventually fuse with the porous plastic. From that point, Giffords no longer needed to wear the helmet that she had been wearing to protect her brain from further injury.[86][87] On June 9, 2011, her aide Pia Carusone announced that while Giffords's comprehension appeared to be "close to normal, if not normal", she was not yet using complete sentences.[88] On June 12, two photos of Giffords taken on May 17 were released, the first since the shooting.[89] On June 15, Giffords was released from the hospital to return home, where she continued speech, music, physical and occupational therapy.[90] Having learned the French horn as a child, she picked it up again as part of her music therapy and in August 2020 spoke about that experience in a speech endorsing Joe Biden's presidential bid.[91]
On August 1, 2011, she made her return to the House floor to vote in favor of raising the debt limit ceiling. She was met with a standing ovation and accolades from her fellow members of Congress.[92] A Giffords spokesman, Mark Kimble, stated in August 2011 that the congresswoman was walking without a cane and was writing left-handed, as she did not have full use of her right side.[93] On October 6, Giffords traveled to Washington for her husband's retirement ceremony, where she presented him with the Distinguished Flying Cross medal. She returned to her husband's Texas home.[94] On October 25, 2011, she travelled to Asheville, North Carolina, for intensive rehabilitation treatments, ending November 4.[95] In Kelly's memoir, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, released in November 2011, he reported that Giffords would return to Congress. As of 2016[update], she continued to struggle with language and had lost fifty percent of her vision in both eyes.[78]
On January 22, 2012, Giffords announced in a video statement that she intended to resign her seat so that she could focus on her recovery.[96] She attended President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address on January 24, and formally submitted her resignation on January 25. Appearing on the floor of the House, after the last bill she sponsored was brought to a vote and unanimously passed, Giffords was lauded by members of Congress and the majority and minority leaders who spoke in tribute to her strength and accomplishment in an unusual farewell ceremony. Her letter of resignation was read on her behalf by her close friend and fellow Democratic representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.[97][98]
A joint memoir by Giffords and her husband, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, with co-author Jeffrey Zaslow, was published on November 15, 2011.[99] Giffords and Kelly were interviewed by ABC's Diane Sawyer in their first joint interview since the shooting, which aired on a special edition of 20/20 on November 14, 2011, in conjunction with the book's publication.[100]
In January 2013, Giffords still had difficulty speaking and walking, and her right arm was paralyzed. She continued to undergo speech and physical therapy.[106] On January 8, 2014, Giffords marked the third anniversary of the shooting by going skydiving. Giffords said on an interview with the Today show, "Oh, wonderful sky. Gorgeous mountain. Blue skies. I like a lot. A lot of fun. Peaceful, so peaceful."[107][108] As of 2022, Giffords continues to experience the aphasia, a disorder which diminishes her ability to communicate her thoughts through spoken language. She co-founded the organization Friends of Aphasia as a support group for others suffering the disorder.[109]
Giffords is a former member of the Arizona regional board of the Anti-Defamation League.[113] After Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, Giffords spent time as a volunteer in Houston, Texas, in relief efforts for hurricane victims. She wrote about her experience in the Tucson Citizen.[114]
Prior to her injury, Giffords was an avid reader, and was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition on July 9, 2006, talking about her love of books.[115] She was periodically interviewed in 2007 together with Illinois Republican Peter Roskam on NPR's All Things Considered.[116] The series focused on their experiences as freshman members of the 110th Congress.[117]
In August 2011, she voted in favor of raising the U.S. debt ceiling.[92]
Education
Giffords argued that Americans are competing on a global level and that this competition starts in the classroom. She was a critic of the No Child Left Behind law, arguing that it imposed an unfunded federal mandate. She also identified herself as a being a supporter of public schools and improved to their efficiency.[120]
Energy
Giffords strongly supported renewable energy (especially solar energy) as a top public policy priority.[121] In September 2007, she published a report titled: The Community Solar Energy Initiative, Solar Energy in Southern Arizona in which it was noted that Arizona has enough sunshine to power the entire United States. The report reviewed current energy usage and discussed ways to increase the production of solar electricity.[122] On August 1, 2008, she wrote to congressional leaders regarding tax credits that were set to expire, arguing that failure to extend the scheme would be extremely harmful to the renewable energy industry "just as it is beginning to take off".[123]
Immigration and border security
Representative Giffords speaking with a military officer in July 2010
During Giffords's tenure in the House, Arizona's 8th congressional district was one of ten in the country bordering Mexico. In 2010, Giffords stated that the Arizona SB 1070 legislation was a "clear calling that the federal government needs to do a better job"[124] and said that she hoped that the legislation would serve as a wake-up call to the federal government. However, she stopped short of supporting the law itself, saying that it "does nothing to secure our border" and that it "stands in direct contradiction to our past and, as a result, threatens our future". She also expressed concern that SB1070 was hurting the state's ability to attract students and businesses.[125]
On August 31, 2010, Giffords praised the arrival of National Guard troops on the border: "Arizonans have waited a long time for the deployment of the National Guard in our state. Their arrival represents a renewed national commitment to protecting our border communities from drug cartels and smugglers."[126]
Giffords worked to secure passage of the August 2010 bill to fund more Border Patrol agents and surveillance technology for Arizona's border with Mexico. The legislation passed the House of Representatives only to be sent back by the U.S. Senate with reduced funding. Ultimately a $600-million bill was passed and signed into law. The bill was over $100million less than Giffords fought for, but she said, "This funding signals a stronger federal commitment to protect those Americans who live and work near the border."[127]
In 2008, Giffords introduced legislation that would have increased the cap on the H-1B visa from 65,000 per year to 130,000 per year.[128] If that were not sufficient, according to her legislation, the cap would have been increased to 180,000 per year.[citation needed] The bill would have allowed, at most, 50% of employees at any given company with at least 50 employees to be H-1B guest workers.[129] Giffords said the bill would help high-tech companies in southern Arizona, some of which rely on H-1B employees.[129] However, Giffords's bill was never voted on by the House of Representatives.
Gun control
In 2008, before being shot, Giffords opposed prohibitions in Washington, D.C., on the possession of handguns in the home and having usable firearms there, signing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller to support its overturn.[130]
In January 2013, Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly started a political action committee called Americans for Responsible Solutions whose mission was to promote gun-control legislation with elected officials and the general public. The couple supports "keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people like criminals, terrorists, and the mentally ill".[131] In 2016, the Legal Community Against Violence merged with Americans for Responsible Solutions and the organization changed its name to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in 2017.[132]
Other proposals from Giffords and Kelly include limiting the sale of certain magazines, limiting the sale of assault weapons, and stopping gun trafficking.[citation needed]
Giffords was a surprise witness at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence on January 30, 2013.[133] In a halting voice, she called for Congress to pass tougher laws on guns, saying "too many children are dying." Giffords is right-handed; her speech therapist had to write out her statement for her since her right arm was paralyzed in the shooting.[106]
In 2017, after the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 and injured 546, she implored lawmakers to take action, saying she "knows the horror of gun violence all too well".[134][135][136][137]
Giffords spoke on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, urging action on gun control. She worked with a speech therapist for months in preparation for the speech, and also performed "America" on the French horn, an instrument she had played as a teen, as a symbol of her recovery.[103]
In 2022, she founded the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention to promote "evidence-based, community-driven strategies to reduce gun violence" and assist communities in community violence intervention efforts.[138]
In 2023, Giffords at the end of an interview said "No more guns," and plans to achieve that by "Legislation, legislation, legislation."[139]
Some commentators have noted that several ships in the U.S. Navy, including Henry M. Jackson, Carl Vinson, John C. Stennis, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush were named for prominent politicians who were still alive at the time of the naming.[146][147] A subsequent Navy report on the naming noted that Secretary Mabus considered honoring Giffords and other victims of the Tucson shooting by naming LCS-10 after the city of Tucson, consistent with the practice of naming littoral combat ships for U.S. cities, but this was not possible because USSTucson, an active Los Angeles-class submarine, already bears the name.[148]
Electoral history
Arizona's 8th Congressional District House Election, 2006
Casas Adobes is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the northern metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona. The population was 66,795 at the 2010 census. Casas Adobes is situated south and southwest of the town of Oro Valley, and west of the community of Catalina Foothills.
Mark Edward Kelly is an American politician, retired astronaut, and United States Navy captain. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the junior U.S. senator from Arizona since 2020. In 2022, he won reelection to a full term.
The 2006 Arizona 8th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Republican Jim Kolbe, who was not running for re-election. The primary was held on September 12, 2006, and the two major party winners were Republican Randy Graf, a former state Representative who challenged Kolbe for the GOP nomination in 2004, and former State Senator Gabby Giffords. Libertarian Dave Nolan, who was uncontested in the primary, was also in the November 7, 2006 general election. Graf was considered too conservative for the district: Kolbe withheld his endorsement, and towards the end of the election the National GOP pulled their support. By election time, most non-partisan analyses considered this race the most likely district to switch hands, which it did, as Giffords won a decisive victory, 54% to 42%.
Martha Elizabeth McSally is an American politician and former military pilot who represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress between 2015 and 2020. She is to date the last Republican to serve Arizona in the U.S. Senate.
Ann Leila Kirkpatrick is an American politician and retired attorney who served as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 2nd congressional district from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented Arizona's 1st congressional district from 2009 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2017. Kirkpatrick was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007.
The 2008 congressional elections in Arizona were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Arizona in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential election. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected would serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011.
Frederica Smith Wilson is an American politician who has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, representing Florida's 24th congressional district. Located in South Florida, Wilson's congressional district, numbered 17th during her first term, covers a large swath of eastern Miami-Dade County. The district contains most of Miami's majority-black precincts. Wilson gained national attention in 2012 for her comments on the death of Trayvon Martin.
John McCarthy Roll was a United States district judge who served on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona from 1991 until his murder in 2011, and as chief judge of that court from 2006 to 2011. With degrees from the University of Arizona College of Law and University of Virginia School of Law, Roll began his career as a court bailiff in Arizona and became an assistant city attorney of Tucson, Arizona in 1973. Later that year, Roll became a deputy county attorney for Pima County, Arizona until 1980, when he began serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for seven years. President George H. W. Bush appointed Roll to a federal judge seat in Arizona after Roll served four years as a state judge.
On January 8, 2011, United States Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords's staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was holding a meeting called "Congress on Your Corner" in the parking lot of a Safeway store when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot her through the head at point-blank range before proceeding to fire on others. One additional person was injured in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. News reports identified the target of the attack to be Giffords, a Democrat representing Arizona's 8th congressional district. Giffords's medical condition was initially described as "critical".
Giffords is an American advocacy and research organization focused on promoting gun control. The organization draws its name from one of its co-founders, Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Giffords was shot along with 18 others at a constituent meeting in Tucson in 2011. The organization has three parts: a 501(c)(4) lobbying arm, a 501(c)(3) research arm, and a super PAC. It was previously known in a different configuration as Americans for Responsible Solutions.
Jared Lee Loughner is an American mass murderer who pled guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the January 8, 2011, Tucson shooting, in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, and killed six people, including Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, Gabe Zimmerman, a member of Giffords's staff, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Loughner shot and injured a total of 13 people, including one man who was injured while subduing him.
Ronald Sylvester Barber is an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2012 to 2015. Barber, a member of the Democratic Party from Arizona, served as district director for U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords before Giffords resigned her seat due to the severe injuries she sustained in an assassination attempt, during which Barber was also injured. He won the Democratic nomination for the special election to finish Giffords's term and was sworn into office on June 19, 2012.
Daniel Hernández Jr. is an American politician and former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. A member of the Arizona Democratic Party, he served alongside Rosanna Gabaldón in Legislative District 2. Hernández interned for U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and was present when she was shot during a 2011 constituent meeting. He has been credited with helping to save Giffords's life after the incident.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts, including the newly created 9th district following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with other federal and state elections, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.
A 2012 special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district was held on June 12, with primary elections held on April 17, to fill a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district until the 112th United States Congress ends on January 3, 2013. The election was caused by the resignation of Representative Gabby Giffords on January 25, 2012, to concentrate on recovering from her injuries from the 2011 Tucson shooting. The seat was won by Ron Barber, a former aide to Giffords who was wounded in the attempt on her life.
Frank Ronald Antenori is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, based in Tucson, Arizona.
USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. The ship is named after former United States Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot along with eighteen other people during a 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The ship's name was announced by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on 10 February 2012. Gabrielle Giffords is the 16th U.S. naval ship to be named for a woman by the United States Navy, and the 13th U.S. naval ship since 1850 to be named after a living person.
Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership." It typically supported Democratic politicians in elections. In 2016, the organization merged with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords.
Randall Scott Friese is an American surgeon and politician from the state of Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, Friese served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2015 through 2021, when he resigned to focus on his medical career.
Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West. It follows Gabrielle Giffords as she recovers from the 2011 shooting.
↑ Hulse, Carl; Zernike, Kate (January 8, 2011). "Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2011. Ms. Giffords is the first Jewish woman elected to the House from her state.
↑ House Session, Jan6, 2011. C-SPAN. January 6, 2011. Event occurs at 1:55:48– 1:56:10. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013)
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Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)
