Will this turn into an anti-firearms hate-fest?

[jimpeel]

Gabriel Giffords will attend a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of her, and several others, shooting. I can see this as a prime venue for the Brady Bunch, among others, to turn this into a firearms hate-fest. Hopefully, this incident has not turned her or her husband into Carolyn McCarthy/Sarah Brady type activists.

SOURCE

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to Attend Tucson Candlelight Vigil on Anniversary of Shooting

Published January 04, 2012 | Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords plans to attend an Arizona candlelight vigil exactly one year after she and 18 others were shot outside a Tucson grocery store during a congressional meet-and-greet.

Giffords husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, will be one of the speakers at Sunday evening's vigil, which will be held at the University of Arizona. Giffords' spokesman Mark Kimble says the congresswoman will not grant any interviews while she's in Tucson.

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[BarryLee]

I believe she was a supporter of gun rights before the shooting, but have not heard any specific comments since the incident. Has she or her husband made any comments related to gun control?

 

[dev_null]

In AZ? Possible but unlikely.

 

[jimpeel]

Has she or her husband made any comments related to gun control?

None that I know of; but we also don't know what the anti-firearms agendists have been whispering in their ear. Hopefully, they realize that this was a nutcase and not an inanimate object which did this damage.

 

[jimbob86]

I checked out a discussion about this on DU (Democratic Underground) ..... imagine a Caliber War and a Glock vs. 1911 thread all rolled into one, without any punches pulled or much moderation to speak of..... nastyness on both sides (pro and anti-gun) of the issue......

 

[44 AMP]

Those people who were anti-gun before are still anti-gun now. If they can use ANYTHING to further that agenda, they do. That hasn't changed.

Those people who are pro-gun understand that the shooting was the illegal act of a deranged individual. Period. And that hasn't changed, either.

I haven't heard the anti's trumpeting any statements from the victims and families, which they certainly would be doing, if they had any that supported their position.

No telling in advance just what the speakers will say, but they should focus on the people, and not the tool used.

 

[carguychris]

I haven't heard the anti's trumpeting any statements from the victims and families, which they certainly would be doing, if they had any that supported their position.

+1. FWIW as I've followed the story, I've noticed that the family seems to be playing their cards very close to their chest and deliberately avoiding making any political statements whatsoever about the shooting. Interviewers have tiptoed around politic topics so cautiously that I suspect the family has been asking them to avoid politics as a precondition for talking ( i.e. "Bring up gun control and I will clam up, the interview will be over, and you will be asked to leave").

I suspect that the candlelight vigil will be more of the same.

 

[B.N.Real]

I like what she said about the guy that shot her so I don't think she would go the anti gunner way.

Glad to see she survived but everyone should know she's really in a battle now for the rest of her life because of that dirtbag.

I'm wondering why that guy is still breathing our air.

 

[hardworker]

If there's any class left in the world there will be no politics at all at the vigil, for or against.

 

[Jack_Bauer24]

I did read this week when the FBI put out the figures for the 2011 instant background checks that the head of the brady bunch said is was a disgrace that no "anti-gun" gun legislation was passed in 2011 especially after the AZ shooting. I guess it will be a point they will keep pointing out and a bit of a rally cry.

 

[noelf2]

the head of the brady bunch said is was a disgrace that no "anti-gun" gun legislation was passed in 2011 especially after the AZ shooting. I guess it will be a point they will keep pointing out and a bit of a rally cry.

It can be a rally cry, but it will be a useless one. Logic prevails.

 

[shortwave]

Hopefully there will not be those that will take this as an opportunity to do any gun profiling period...

...but alas...I'm afraid there may be a few such as the moron Bill Wade(outgoing chair of the Coalition of National Park Services of Retirees) that took advantage of the Mt Rainier tragedy to degrade and chastise Congress for allowing guns in parks. When clearly, gun laws had zero to do with either that tragedy or Rep. Giffords tragedy. Both crimes were committed by deranged people that could have cared less what the law said.

 

[Gary L. Griffiths]

Couple of points...

The Crossroads of the West gun show is in Tucson this weekend, and Sunday is the anniversary of the Giffords shooting. Look for the media to be all over the event, possibly attempting to do F2F sales, representing themselves as "unable to pass a background check" or displaying what they believe would be obvious signs of mental illness.

I was at the Pima Pistol Club range yesterday, and the rangemaster was having to field media inquiries about whether they sold, rented, or "loaned" weapons at the range (which they don't).

 

[ltc444]

Gifford, prior to here injury, was progun. Like so many AZ politicians she knows that she cannot survive politically if she is anything but pro gun.

Udall is a prime example. While he was in elected office he was progun and probusiness, once he went into an appointed position his true colors quickly showed.

 

[Tom Servo]

It can be a rally cry, but it will be a useless one. Logic prevails.

So do numbers and funding. The Brady Campaign is a hollow shell of its former self, with little credibility and even less money.

 

[Casimer]

Interviewers have tiptoed around politic topics so cautiously that I suspect the family has been asking them to avoid politics as a precondition for talking..

That's a good point. I suspect that you're right. If she or her husband were to have given any indication that they'd play along, we'd likely be seeing a replay of the coverage that accompanied her shooting. Elements of the press went so overboard in response to that incident that they effectively co-opted it for their own purposes. Their behavior was extremely disrespectful towards her and the other victims.