Friday, October 17, 2014
The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.: Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman shot in 2011 in a public attack that left six others dead, continues to struggle with the aftereffects of a bullet to the brain. Her mobility is limited; she has difficulties speaking.
She had to abandon her career in elective office. She has not abandoned public debate. Hit with a life-changing misfortune, she has used the prominence afforded by her struggle to recover to advance her causes.
Giffords is on a nine-state tour promoting tighter gun restrictions in domestic violence cases. Her tour is to take her to Minnesota, where the Legislature — with the support of gun-rights advocate Rep. Tony Cornish of Good Thunder — recently passed a law denying abusers the right to possess guns.
Giffords now is pushing to extend such restrictions to convicted stalkers, and for expanded background checks to prevent abusers from buying firearms at gun shows.
This is hardly Gifford’s first foray into the gun issue. She made a similar tour last year to promote federal legislation to expand background checks.
This time she’s focused on the state level and framing the issue in terms of domestic violence and protecting women. It is a politically astute approach.