Almost eight years ago, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (Arizona) and eighteen others were shot during a “Congress on Your Corner” constituent meeting in a supermarket parking lot in Tucson, Arizona
Although critically injured, Giffords eventually made an astonishing recovery.
Not so fortunate were six others, including a nine-year old girl.
As the victim of senseless gun violence and as the first Jewish congresswoman from Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords is uniquely “qualified” (for lack of a better term), to speak out on the most recent gun massacre to traumatize the nation.
Here is her message:
Several months ago, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania posted a message for the congregation on their website.
The title of the post was “We Deserve Better,” and it included the following passages:
“I recall seeing a post not long ago that rather accurately describes the life cycle of news, and I paraphrase to the best of my recollection: Tragic event – Thoughts and Prayers – Call to Action by our Elected Leaders – Hang Wringing – Next News Event.”
…
“Despite continuous calls for sensible gun control and mental health care, our elected leaders in Washington knew that it would fade away in time. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the mid-term elections, I fear that that the status quo will remain unchanged, and school shootings will resume. I shouldn’t have to include in my daily morning prayers that God should watch over my wife and daughter, both teachers, and keep them safe. Where are our leaders?”
Yesterday morning, that same Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill was targeted in a hate-fueled act of violence. And once again, our nation is shaken to the core.
Several are dead, many others injured.
Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are devastated and our Jewish community is heartbroken.
We’d like to say a tragedy like this is unimaginable, but we just cannot.
We have seen them before, and we will see them again.
Sometime, likely soon, we will see more images of police clearing areas around schools, places of worship or places of work, as families rush toward the scene of the crime desperate for information about their loved ones.
But we do not have to.
We can decide that, in the words of Rabbi Myers, “we deserve better.” We can decide that our leaders show up.
Because they know how to solve this problem. And like Senator Chris Murphy says, “I shudder to think about what it says about us as a nation if we fail to even try.”
Every single day, nearly 100 Americans are killed with a gun in our country.
We must not only recognize the realities of hatred in our society but actively work to make it harder for dangerous people fueled by hate-filled intentions to access firearms and commit crimes.
So — once again — our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this shooting, their families, and their friends. But the truth is, for those who have the power to act and to save lives, that’s not enough.
It is long past time for Congress to find the courage to take on the gun lobby — to do it for our families, and to do it for each other.
So far, the current Congress has failed to act. Next week, we must elect a Congress that will.
Thank you for standing with us in this fight.
All our best,
Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly
Since her resignation from Congress, Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, have been very active in promoting gun control legislation, including limiting the sale of high-capacity magazines and assault weapons and stopping gun trafficking: “Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people like criminals, terrorists, and the mentally ill”
