Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Portland, declared gun violence a ‘women’s issue’
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Portland, declared gun violence a ‘women’s issue’
The Oregonian
By Bryan Denson
October 21, 2014- Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt during a mass shooting at an Arizona supermarket in 2011, told a roundtable of women leaders in Portland on Tuesday that gun violence is a ”women’s issue.”
”Dangerous people with guns are a threat to women,” she said in the magazine production room at Grant High School. ”Criminals with guns. Stalkers with guns. Abusers with guns. That makes gun violence a women’s issue. For mothers. For families. For you and me. Women can lead the way. We stand for common sense. We stand for responsibility.”
”Together we can change our laws,” she said, slurring slightly. ”Together we can win elections. Please join your voice with mine.”
Giffords, who is 44 and now walks with the use of a cane, was preaching to the choir. The room at Grant was choked with domestic violence experts, elected officials and federal law enforcement.
Tuesday’s visit in Portland was the eighth leg of Giffords’ nine-city Protect All Women tour. She appears in Seattle on Wednesday.
The tour was not intended as a partisan event for or against gun ownership.
Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark E. Kelly, both own firearms and strongly support Americans’ constitutional rights to bear arms. After the shooting that nearly took her life, Giffords, who previously shot with her right hand, learned to shoot left-handed.
While most of the group – 19 women and one man – seem to come to the conclusion that gun violence is a public health issue, it was clear some sought more restrictive laws on gun purchases and ownership.
Amanda Marshall, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, noted that polarizing the issue into pro-gun or anti-gun wasn’t the way to reach those caught in the middle.
”You’d be surprised what sets off the Second Amendment activists,” Marshall said, noting that many in the state hold strong opinions about gun rights. ”We’re just here to provide facts.”
The events are designed to bring women together to discuss what can be done to protect women and their families from gun violence and embolden women to reduce firearms injuries in their communities.
The evening event brought a diverse group of women’s political, law enforcement and domestic-abuse prevention leaders to the table. They included Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack; state Rep. Barbara Smith Warner; Marshall; Colene Domenech, a supervisor for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Vanessa Timmons, executive director of the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.
Giffords retired from politics in January 2012, a week into her third term, after a mass shooting outside a supermarket near Tucson.
On Jan. 8, 2011, the Arizona Democrat was shot in the head with a 9mm slug as she met with constituents outside a Safeway in Casas Adobes. The bullets fired by gunman Jared Lee Loughner’s Glock handgun killed six people and injured 13 others.
Loughner is serving life without parole at a highly secure medical prison in Springfield, Missouri.