Lawyer / Barrister / Solicitor
Deepest Condolences to the Giffords/Kelly/Roll Families – Congresswoman Critically Injured & Federal Judge Murdered During Citizen Outreach Event
Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was gunned down — alongside with six others — during a constituency event outside of a Tucson-area supermarket. Such a senseless death. Giffords has apparently been a target for those on the far right for the past couple of years, with her office being vandalized last March following her vote for health care reform. Also, there was recently an event that encouraged the use of gun violence against Giffords — and promoted the firing of M-16s.
Again, deepest condolences to her family. And let us all hope that her life’s efforts and dedication to her community were not in vain.
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Editor
Now, reports are surfacing from media outlets that reports of the Congresswoman’s death were premature. She is in critical condition, and undergoing surgery. Oh, boy ….
Editor
Latest news: Federal District Court Judge John Roll was among the victims of the shooter. Roll was nominated by President George H.W. Bush back in 1991. Apparently, he, too was a victim of right-wing extremist threats:
From Judgepedia – http://judgepedia.org/index.php/John_Roll:
Judge Roll in 2009, faced death threats after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher. After Judge Roll ruled the case would be certified, threats came from talk-radio shows which fueled controversy and spurred audiences into making threats against the judge.
The threats materialized after one show, Judge Roll’s name logged more than 200 phone calls as some callers threatened the judge and his family.
This resulted in the judge and his wife were under a protection detail for one month as Judge Roll was given twenty four hours a day, seven days a week security by the US Marshals Service. An US Attorney’s investigation ruled that four men were identified as threat makers, but no charges were filed.
Additional source material: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/07/09/20090709threats0709.html
Our deepest condolences to Judge Roll’s family during this tragic time.
Editor
Latest update is good news:
4:03 PM ET Surgeon ‘Very Optimistic’ About Giffords, One Dead, Five Critical
A surgeon is “very optimistic” about Rep. Giffords. He adds that she was shot in the head “through and through.”
“We cannot tell what kind of recovery but I’m about as optimistic as it can get in this situation.”
He also says that there are 10 patients from the shooting, one has died, five are in critical condition. The dead patient was a child — the only one that came to the hospital.
Editor
Add an unnamed congressional staffer and a nine-year old child to the list of victims. The latter died following arrival at a Tucson-area hospital.
This will be my last update on this issue. Congresswoman Giffords has apparently made it through surgery with the chief of intensive care stating his extreme optimism on her recovery — although he was unwilling to presently commit to whether or not it would be a “full” recovery.