GIFFORDS remembers Melissa and Mark Hortman one year after assassination

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement marking one year since Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were shot and killed in a politically motivated assassination. Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were also shot and injured by the gunman. Hortman and Hoffman were both Democrats.

“Today, I’m mourning my friend Melissa and her husband Mark. Melissa was a dedicated public servant who worked every day to improve the lives of Minnesotans. That should never have cost her or her husband their lives,” said former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. “I am also thinking of the lifelong physical and emotional scars Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette now bear. Being elected to office never be life-threatening, and politically motivated violence in America must come to an end. From state legislatures to the White House, it’s time for our leaders to stand against armed political violence.”