Scary to think of people buying guns like these without a background check at a gun show or the Internet. We really need to close the gun show and private seller loop hole.Former astronaut Mark Kelly • Discussing his recent purchase of an assault rifle, which he posted about on his Facebook page. Kelly, who is married to Gabrielle Giffords and co-founded the gun control group Americans for Responsible Solutions with the former congresswoman, was trying to buy the rifle in an effort to better understand the process behind buying a gun. But the effort backfired, with gun rights supporters on the Facebook page calling him a hypocrite or “two faced coward.” In other words, buying assault rifles under the guise of showing the need for gun control isn’t a good idea. And also, gun rights supporters are kind of jerks.
“Special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe have used big money and influence to cow Congress into submission. Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties. Rather than conducting a dialogue, they threaten those who divert from their orthodoxy with political extinction.
As a result, we are more vulnerable to gun violence. Weapons designed for the battlefield have a home in our streets. Criminals and the mentally ill can easily purchase guns by avoiding background checks. Firearm accessories designed for killing at a high rate are legal and widely available. And gun owners are less responsible for the misuse of their weapons than they are for their automobiles.
Forget the boogeyman of big, bad government coming to dispossess you of your firearms. As a Western woman and a Persian Gulf War combat veteran who have exercised our Second Amendment rights, we don’t want to take away your guns any more than we want to give up the two guns we have locked in a safe at home. What we do want is what the majority of NRA members and other Americans want: responsible changes in our laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence.
We saw from the NRA leadership’s defiant and unsympathetic response to the Newtown, Conn., massacre that winning even the most common-sense reforms will require a fight. But whether it has been in campaigns or in Congress, in combat or in space, fighting for what we believe in has always been what we do.”
Giffords and Kelly are taking the right approach here.
Gabby goes home: Over a year and a half after the shooting that nearly took her life (and nearly a week after the man who shot her, Jared Loughner, pleaded guilty), Gabrielle Giffords is heading back to Tucson. We wish her luck as she moves on with her life. (ht Andrew Hart)
We don’t speak for all of the victims or their families, but Gabby and I are satisfied with this plea agreement….Avoiding a trial will allow us — and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community — to continue with our recovery and move forward with our lives.Astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords • Confirming that his family supports the plea deal between Jared Lee Loughner and prosecutors that will reportedly see the alleged spend life in prison, but avoid any chance of receiving the death penalty. Loughner was declared mentally fit to stand trial in a hearing on Tuesday, after which he pleaded guilty. source (via • follow)
Speaking of Gabby Giffords, here’s how she spent her day: While the Congresswoman certainly didn’t have an easy time of it, she led the Pledge of Allegiance at a candlelight vigil today honoring the victims of last year’s Tucson shooting, where she nearly died. According to those at the memorial events today, the community finds strength in her recovery. “It’s given everybody a lift to see how she progressed,” said preschool aide Cheryl Lillie, 57. (Photo by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times)
Gabrielle Giffords has more to be thankful for than most do this year, so how did she celebrate? She handed out food to the troops. Like a boss. We hope this warms your heart. It did ours.
Via Mediaite, part of the Gabby Giffords interview. To have come so far in such a short time is amazing. Giffords says she will not return to Congress until she is “better.” But the way she jokes with her husband Mark, as well as with Diane Sawyer (whose hair she fixes), definitely shows that she’s far closer to “better” than anyone could’ve imagined.
It was emotional to see the congresswoman for the first time in four months but it was also very inspirational. To actually see her and talk with her, it was a very moving experience.Mark Kimble, communications staffer for Gabrielle Giffords • Speaking about seeing Giffords for the first time since the January shooting that nearly killed her. Giffords was staying at a hotel in Florida so she could watch her husband, Mark Kelly, launch in the shuttle Endeavor at the Kennedy Space Center. While there, she was able to meet with some of her staff that she hadn’t seen since the fateful day, likely an intensely emotional reunion for all involved. That she made the trip is testimony both to the amazing care and rehabilitation she’s received, as well as the incredible and improbable success she’s had in recovery. source (via • follow)
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Maybe it was fate. I hadn’t been a big believer in fate until recently.Gabrielle Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly • Offering up an explanation at today’s National Prayer Breakfast for why Gabrielle Giffords survived her assassination attempt last month. According to Kelly, while this ”has been the hardest time of my life, and the hardest time of my family’s life,” Giffords ”gets a little better every day.” Obama praised Kelly and offered this sentiment to rally around: “We are with them for the long haul. God is with them for the long haul.” Warm feelings abound. source (via • follow)
I’d probably see them. You know, I don’t think it’s their fault. It’s not the parents fault. You know, I’d like to think I’m a person that’s, you know, somewhat forgiving. And, I mean, they’ve got to be hurting in this situation as much as much as anybody.Gabrielle Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly • Expressing a willingness to meet Jared Lee Loughner’s parents, Amy and Randy. A smart, brave decision on his part, especially considering the heartbreak the NASA astronaut must be feeling at the moment. We need more people like Kelly in this world. source (via • follow)
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