By Matt Cantor It was “political fear” and “cold calculations” that drove a Senate minority to block a gun background-check measure yesterday. But “that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets,” writes Gabrielle Giffords…
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166433/furious-giffords-the-senate-shamed-itself.html
By The Huffington Post News Editors
TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, keep pushing for stricter gun laws as they continue to own weapons for recreational purposes, including the same type of gun used in the January 2011 shooting rampage that left Giffords wounded.
However, the couple’s 9 mm Glock holds fewer bullets than the one used the Tucson shooting spree. Limiting the size of ammunition magazines is one of the goals of a new political action committee formed by Giffords and Kelly.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Polly Davis Doig “I think about patience every day,” says Gabrielle Giffords, as she rehabilitates from being shot in the head two years ago. But as she looks at the gun control dance playing out on Capitol Hill, she finds herself running short of that particular virtue. “What are they waiting for?” she… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, will give Bard College‘s commencement address on May 25, the school announced Wednesday.
Giffords, who was shot in the head during a rampage at a Tucson, Ariz. rally in January 2011, retired from the House of Representatives in 2012 to focus on her recovery. The New York college will award the former congresswoman with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
Over the last two years, Giffords and Kelly have become strong advocates for gun control. In January, the couple formed a political action committee with the goal of curbing gun violence.
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Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords says the release of police reports in the Tucson rampage that seriously wounded her shows that the “mentally disturbed” shooter should have never had access to a gun.
Giffords says not a day goes by without her thinking of the meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson supermarket and all those affected by the shooting in January 2011 that left six dead.
Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced last November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after he pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges.
In a statement released Wednesday by the gun control advocacy group she started with her husband, Giffords says “no one piece of legislation will end all gun violence.” But she hopes “commonsense policies like universal background checks” are enacted.
Authorities investigating the shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 11 others compiled nearly 3,000 pages of documents released Wednesday that provide a fresh glimpse into the 2011 attack, including the erratic behavior of the gunman, a tense interrogation and the chaos that enveloped the bloody scene.
Jared Lee Loughner was polite and cooperative but complained of feeling sore as authorities began their hours-long initial interview of the gunman.
The conversation as Loughner sat in restraints in an interview room was mainly small talk. Little was said over the first four hours. Loughner asked if he could use the restroom, then at one point complained he felt sore.
“I’m about ready to fall over,” he said.
The roughly 2,700 pages of documents on the shooting outside a Safeway where Giffords was hosting a meet-and-greet with constituents have been kept private since the January 2011 attack.
The records, released by the Pima County sheriff’s department, include transcribed interviews with witnesses and various police reports, and provide new insight into how the shooting occurred.
Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez described how constituents and others were lining up to see Giffords that morning. He helped people sign in and recalled handing the sheet on a clipboard to Loughner.
“The next thing I hear is someone yell, `Gun,”‘ said Hernandez, who rushed to tend to Giffords’ gunshot wound to the head.
“She couldn’t open her eyes. I tried to get any responses from her. Um, it looked like her left side was the only side that was still mobile,” Hernandez told authorities. “She couldn’t speak. It was mumbled. She was squeezing my hand.”
Hernandez explained how he had some training as a nurse and first checked for a pulse.
“She was still breathing. Her breathing was getting shallower,” he said. “I then lifted her up so that she wasn’t flat on the ground.”
News organizations seeking the records were repeatedly denied the documents in the months after the shooting and the arrest of Loughner, 24, who was sentenced in November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after he pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges.
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns had prevented the sheriff’s department from releasing the records in response to a request from The Washington Post, ruling in March 2011 that Loughner’s right to a fair trial outweighed whatever disclosures might be authorized under state law.
Last month, Burns cleared the way for the release of the records after Star Publishing Company, which publishes the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, had sought their release. The judge said Loughner’s fair-trial rights are no longer on the line now that his criminal case has resolved.
Loughner’s guilty plea enabled him to avoid the death sentence. He is serving his sentence at a federal prison medical facility in Springfield, Mo., where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and forcibly given psychotropic drug treatments.
Arizona’s chief federal judge and a 9-year-old girl were among those killed in the rampage. Giffords was left partially blind, with a paralyzed right arm and brain injury. She resigned from Congress last …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
As authorities investigated the rampage that killed six people and wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, they compiled nearly 3,000 pages of documents that include everything from interviews with survivors and victims to police reports filed from the scene of the crime. The documents were released Wednesday, and provide new insight into how the shooting occurred and the motivations behind gunman Jared Loughner. A look at some of the notable findings:
LOUGHNER
The gunman was polite and cooperative with authorities who were holding him the afternoon following his morning shooting rampage. The conversation as Loughner sat in restraints in an interview room was mainly small talk. Little was said over the four hours. Loughner asks at one point if he can please use the restroom and says “Thank you” when allowed. At another point he complained that “I’m about ready to fall over.”
GUNMAN’S PARENTS
Loughner’s mother, Amy, described his run-ins with authorities, his use of marijuana and cocaine, his journals and his increasingly erratic behavior. She also says the parents took a shotgun away from Loughner after he was kicked out of a community college.
THE SCENE
Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez helped tend to his boss after she was shot in the head. In an interview, he described the chaos: “She couldn’t open her eyes. I tried to get any responses for her. Um, it looked like her left side was the only side that was still mobile. Um, she couldn’t speak. It was mumbled. She was squeezing my hand.”
“I did some training as a Certified Nursing Assistant and as a phlebotomist, um, when I was in high school. So I knew that we need to see if she’s got a pulse. She was still breathing. Her breathing was getting shallower. Uh, I then lifted her up so that she wasn’t flat on the ground against the wall,” he said.
THE ENCOUNTER
Hernandez described how constituents and other people were lining up to see Giffords, and he was helping people sign in. He recalled handing Loughner a clipboard. “The next thing I hear is someone yell gun,” he said.
LOUGHNER FRIEND
One-time Loughner friend Zachary Osler …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are being made public.
The release Wednesday will mark the first public glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack more than two years ago.
The Pima County sheriff’s department will release an estimated 2,700 pages of records from the January 2011 shooting at a meet-and-greet event outside a grocery store that killed six people and wounded Giffords and 11 others.
The documents include transcribed interviews with witnesses, police reports and other records.
The judge in the case had prevented authorities from releasing the records, but cleared the way after the conclusion of the criminal case against the man who carried out the attack.
The daughter of former astronaut Mark Kelly was walking her dog Shiner on Goff Island Beach when the dog bolted, ripping the leash from her hand and fatally attacking a beached baby sea lion.
Video showed the owner and two other women struggling several minutes in vain to pull the dog off the sea lion. As his daughter screamed and cried, Kelly arrived and grabbed the collar. He shook the dog’s head until it released the bloodied mammal, which later died.
Kelly is married to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in a shooting in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011. His daughters, Claudia and Claire, are from a previous marriage.
Laguna Beach police said they did not plan to press charges because it did not appear the owner was at fault in the attack Saturday, Capt. Jason Kravetz said Tuesday. The bulldog mix was leashed and legally on the beach below the exclusive Montage Resort.
Kravetz said, however, that authorities could not close the case until a necropsy is performed and investigators have checked with animal control in the dog’s hometown to see if it has a history of attacks. If there is a history of aggression, authorities could become involved.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also does not expect to take legal action, spokesman Jim Milbury said.
“We will have to wait for all the facts to come in, but it appears to be an unfortunate accident,” he said.
Federal law protects marine animals. The state has no jurisdiction, a spokeswoman said.
The Pacific Marine Mammal Center will determine the sea lion’s cause of death. Officers had removed the same sea lion from a storm drain earlier in the day, Kravetz said. Calls to the mammal center were not immediately returned.
“This is a regrettable and traumatic incident for the animals and the people involved,” said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. “Perhaps this will lead to more research and recommendations for peaceful coexistence between domestic animals and local wildlife.”
Chasing, hunting or attacking animals like cats and squirrels comes naturally to some dogs, PETA said in a statement. In this case it was a vulnerable sea lion.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Amateur video shows former astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, yanking away a dog that clamped down on a baby sea lion at a California beach.
Laguna Beach police tell the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/YQATM5) that the attack happened near an exclusive resort Saturday.
In the video obtained by the Times and KABC-TV, Kelly’s screaming daughter tries to pull her dog from the sea lion as two other women help.
Kelly finally steps in and wrests the animal free. It later died.
A spokeswoman for Kelly’s political committee says the family crated the dog and then talked to officers. Police say the dog broke from its leash, and no laws were broken.
Kelly and Giffords recently started a gun control advocacy group. The former Arizona congresswoman was shot in 2011.
Condolences to the Giffords family for this traumatic experience.
Goff Cove in Laguna Beach CA.
Dog jumped down from above to attack baby seal and locked on to its neck. Women are attempting to wack dog with a piece of seaweed and pull seal out of the dogs jaws.
Dog had been locked on for apprx. 4 min. prior to this recording.
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The owner of a Tucson gun store where former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords‘ husband purchased a semi-automatic rifle has canceled the transaction.
Doug MacKinlay said Monday that a full refund was sent to Mark Kelly via express mail because the former astronaut didn’t plan to keep the AR-15-style rifle for his personal use.
Kelly bought the gun March 5 at Diamondback Police Supply, saying he wanted to show how easy it is to buy an assault weapon. He planned to turn it in to Tucson police.
MacKinlay tells The Arizona Daily Star (http://bit.ly/X6mRe1 ) that he terminated the transaction Thursday before Kelly could take possession of the firearm.
Giffords was among 13 people wounded in a January 2011 shooting outside a Tucson supermarket that left six others dead.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com
A Tucson gun store owner has decided to rescind the sale of a military-style rifle to Mark Kelly, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, after Kelly said he had intended the purchase to make a political point about how easy it is to obtain the kind of firearms he’s lobbying Congress to ban.
Amateur video shows former astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, yanking away a dog that clamped down on a baby sea lion at a California beach.
Laguna Beach police tell the Los Angeles Times that the attack happened near an exclusive resort Saturday.
In the video obtained by the Times and KABC-TV, Kelly’s screaming daughter tries to pull her dog from the sea lion as two other women help.
Kelly finally steps in and wrests the animal free. It later died.
A spokeswoman for Kelly’s political committee says the family crated the dog and then talked to officers. Police say the dog broke from its leash, and no laws were broken.
Kelly and Giffords recently started a gun control advocacy group. The former Arizona congresswoman was shot in 2011.
WASHINGTON – After a couple of false starts, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would ban assault weapons, restrict the size of ammunition clips and require universal background checks on gun sales.
But in spite of passionate pleas by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, it heads to the Senate floor with no Republican support, and it may not have the backing of every Democrat. The Republican-led House of is all but certain to reject it.
“As I’ve said before, the road is uphill,” Feinstein said Thursday, after her bill cleared the panel on a party-line vote of 10-8.
She was the lead sponsor of the original assault weapons ban Congress passed in 1994 but didn’t renew 10 years later for lack of support. The political landscape has changed since then, as has the degree of public shock over recent mass shootings, including one in December that left 20 Connecticut elementary school children dead, and another more than two years ago that gravely injured former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
But even that might not be enough to get restrictions on the use of assault weapons.
WASHINGTON – After a couple of false starts, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would ban assault weapons, restrict the size of ammunition clips and require universal background checks on gun sales.
But in spite of passionate pleas by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, it heads to the Senate floor with no Republican support, and it may not have the backing of every Democrat. The Republican-led House of is all but certain to reject it.
“As I’ve said before, the road is uphill,” Feinstein said Thursday, after her bill cleared the panel on a party-line vote of 10-8.
She was the lead sponsor of the original assault weapons ban Congress passed in 1994 but didn’t renew 10 years later for lack of support. The political landscape has changed since then, as has the degree of public shock over recent mass shootings, including one in December that left 20 Connecticut elementary school children dead, and another more than two years ago that gravely injured former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
But even that might not be enough to get restrictions on the use of assault weapons.
Kelly bought the guns at a Tucson shop the day before he appeared with his wife at the supermarket where she was wounded during a shooting rampage that left six dead and 12 others injured two years ago.
PHOENIX – The husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords generated nearly 4,000 comments on Facebook from people on both sides of the gun debate after he posted a photo of himself buying a military-style rifle — a purchase he made to demonstrate how easy it is to obtain the kind of firearms he’s lobbying Congress to ban.
A background check took only a matter of minutes to complete, Mark Kelly said in the Facebook post, adding that it’s scary to think people can buy similar guns without background checks at gun shows or on the Internet.
It didn’t take long for gun-rights supporters to accuse Kelly of being a hypocrite for buying an AR-15-style rifle and a 45.-caliber handgun. Many of the Facebook comments focused on his motivations and the rules for purchasing such guns.
Kelly and Giffords started a gun control advocacy group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, amid the wave of recent mass shootings. They have been touring the country in recent months in support of expanded background checks for gun purchases.
Kelly bought the guns at a Tucson shop the day before he appeared with his wife at the supermarket where she was wounded during a shooting rampage that left six dead and 12 others injured two years ago.
The public event last week was the first time the survivors had come together since the January 2011 shooting.
Giffords resigned from Congress last year as she continues to recover from her injuries.
The AR-15 is among 157 military-style weapons that would be banned under a bill pending before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Kelly, a former astronaut, said he intends to eventually hand in the rifle to Tucson police.
Doug MacKinlay is the owner of Diamondback Police Supply, the shop where Kelly bought the guns. He said Kelly bought the rifle on March 5 but couldn’t immediately take possession of it because the shop had bought it from a customer. As a result, the store is required by a Tucson ordinance to hold the gun for 20 days to give the city enough time to make sure the weapon wasn’t used in a crime, MacKinlay said.
MacKinlay said Kelly never revealed to the store’s staff why he was buying the guns and added that it would be wrong to refuse to sell a gun to someone because of their personal views.
“He is a U.S. citizen, an Arizona citizen and expressing his Second Amendment right to purchase and own a firearm,” MacKinlay said.
Todd Rathner, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association‘s affiliate in Arizona and a national NRA board member, questioned the point that Kelly was trying to make in buying the guns, saying a model citizen such as Kelly should be able to buy a gun relatively quickly. He also noted that such a purchase could have been a good investment as the value of those types of weapon soars amid heightened demand from gun owners.
“If you believe him, it’s a cheap publicity stunt,” Rathner said. “If you don’t, then he was speculating on the value of the rifle because he knew the prices would be inflated.”
The advocacy group started by Giffords and Kelly had no immediate comment Tuesday on Kelly’s gun buys.
But the group released a statement from Kelly on the Senate Judiciary Committee‘s approval Tuesday of a proposal to expand federal firearms background checks to nearly all gun purchases. Kelly said the 10-8 vote was a huge step in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill people. Kelly’s statement didn’t address the controversy over his own gun buys.
Kelly, a former astronaut who plans to keep the handgun, told CNN on Monday that it was important for him to have firsthand information on the ease of buying guns such as the AR-15 and that he looks forward to buying a firearm at a gun show in the future. Kelly and Giffords have long been supporters of gun rights and owned handguns themselves.
A man accused of threatening a Colorado lawmaker for pushing for stricter gun control measures is set to make his first court appearance.
Franklin Sain is due to appear before a Denver judge Friday afternoon to be advised of the charges against him. His appearance comes as state senators debate a series of gun control bills.
The 42-year-old former technology executive is accused of sending threatening emails, voicemails and a letter to Rep. Rhonda Fields of Aurora.
In one message, Sain allegedly told Fields he hoped someone would “Gifords” her, an apparent reference to the shooting and wounding of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Sain’s attorney says the messages were not threats, and are protected by free speech.
He’s been charged with attempting to influence a public servant and harassment.
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is returning to the site of a shooting that left her critically wounded to urge key senators to support expanded background checks for gun purchases.
She’s scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday in the parking lot of a Safeway grocery store outside Tucson to promote tougher firearm regulations.
The Democrat was among 13 people wounded in the January 2011 shooting rampage as she met with constituents. Six people were killed.
Other survivors are expected to join Giffords at the news conference.
A gun control group started by Giffords and husband Mark Kelly began airing a new television ad in Arizona and Iowa Tuesday calling for background checks.
Sheriff’s deputies are at the event to provide security.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is urging key senators to support expanded background checks for gun purchases in a new television ad that is to begin airing Tuesday in Arizona and Iowa.
Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun control group started by Giffords and husband Mark Kelly, said it is spending six figures on the ads in two states with strong gun traditions. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up tougher firearm regulations Wednesday.
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By The Huffington Post News Editors
DENVER — Firearm restrictions pitched by Colorado Democrats advanced Monday, as the battle over them intensified with hundreds of gun rights supporters cramming the state Capitol and circling the building all day with car horns blaring. Inside, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords urged lawmakers to pass universal background checks and victims of mass shootings in Connecticut and a suburban Denver movie theater pleaded for more gun controls.
Colorado has become a focus point in the national debate over what new laws, if any, are needed to prevent gun violence in the wake of recent mass shootings, including an attack at a suburban Denver movie theater last summer – a massacre that brought to mind the Columbine High School shooting of 1999 for many in the state and across the nation.
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