Former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords unambiguously condemned Donald Trump’s joking suggestion that gun owners assassinate Hillary Clinton (or possibly her appointed Supreme Court Justices). “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment,” Trump told the crowd at a rally in Wilmington, N.C.. “And by the way … if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dunno.”
Giffords responded to Trump’s careless comments in a joint statement with her husband, Mark Kelly. “Donald Trump might astound Americans on a routine basis, but we must draw a bright red line between political speech and suggestions of violence,” the couple said. “Responsible, stable individuals won’t take Trump’s rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy. They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed.”
In 2011, Giffords was shot in the head while meeting with constituents in Tucson, Arizona. Since the attempt on her life, Giffords and her husband have dedicated themselves to advocating for common sense gun reform. Giffords gave a moving speech at the Democratic National Convention in July, during which she stated that she was supporting Clinton because she would stand up to the gun lobby.
“What political leaders say matters to their followers,” the couple’s statement continues. “When candidates descend into coarseness and insult, our politics follow suit. When they affirm violence, we should fear that violence will follow. It must be the responsibility of all Americans — from Donald Trump himself, to his supporters, to those who remain silent or oppose him — to unambiguously condemn these remarks and the violence they insinuate.” Giffords and her husband both believe that Trump’s words take aim at not only Clinton but to the country.
(Via The Hill)