Giffords leaves Congress to focus on recovery
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Representative Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head during a shooting spree in Tucson, Arizona, last year, formally submitted her resignation from Congress on Wednesday (January 25) to focus on her recovery.
In an emotional ceremony on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a south Florida Representative and close friend of Giffords broke into tears as she read her resignation letter.
"The tragic January eighth shooting in Tucson took the lives of six beautiful Americans and wounded 13 others, me included. Not a day goes by that I don't feel grief for the lives lost and so many others torn apart," Wasserman Schultz read on behalf of Giffords.
Giffords was shot at close range when a gunman opened fire at her and bystanders gathered for a "Congress on Your Corner" meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson supermarket on January 8, 2011. Six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, and 13 others including Giffords were wounded.
"I have given all of myself to be able to walk back onto the house floor this year to be able to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District, however, today I know that now is not the time. I have more work to do on my recovery," Wasserman Schultz read.
Giffords submitted her letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Arizona law requires Brewer to call a special election to fill Giffords' seat.
Seen as a rising political star and a centrist politician, Giffords was one of the Democrats who prevailed in the Republican sweep of swing districts in the November 2010 elections.
Since the shooting, she has received intensive therapy at a Houston hospital for the brain injury she sustained in the shooting -- and has been assisted by her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly.
STORY: Representative Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head during a shooting spree in Tucson, Arizona, last year, formally submitted her resignation from Congress on Wednesday (January 25) to focus on her recovery.
In an emotional ceremony on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a south Florida Representative and close friend of Giffords broke into tears as she read her resignation letter.
"The tragic January eighth shooting in Tucson took the lives of six beautiful Americans and wounded 13 others, me included. Not a day goes by that I don't feel grief for the lives lost and so many others torn apart," Wasserman Schultz read on behalf of Giffords.
Giffords was shot at close range when a gunman opened fire at her and bystanders gathered for a "Congress on Your Corner" meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson supermarket on January 8, 2011. Six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, and 13 others including Giffords were wounded.
"I have given all of myself to be able to walk back onto the house floor this year to be able to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District, however, today I know that now is not the time. I have more work to do on my recovery," Wasserman Schultz read.
Giffords submitted her letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Arizona law requires Brewer to call a special election to fill Giffords' seat.
Seen as a rising political star and a centrist politician, Giffords was one of the Democrats who prevailed in the Republican sweep of swing districts in the November 2010 elections.
Since the shooting, she has received intensive therapy at a Houston hospital for the brain injury she sustained in the shooting -- and has been assisted by her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly.