Gabrielle Giffords On Sunny Side of Many Causes

Update:

In a statement issued on Sunday, U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, Congresswoman Giffords' husband, thanked the public for its support and asked that people who wanted to help to consider making donations to two Tucscon charities: The Tucson Community Food Bank and the Southern AZ Chapter of the American Red Cross.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend a memorial service on Wednesday for the victims of last weekend's shooting rampage. The memorial service will be at the University of Arizona at 6 p.m. local time and will be open to the public. More at Examiner.com.

I live in Tucson...just down the road from the busy intersection and shopping strip where Gabrielle Giffords and many supporters were wounded and killed in a senseless act on Saturday morning.

I and my neighbors have been in shock and plunged into grief for the victims of an unfathomable act of murder, and the horrible fact that this tragic event happened here.

Tucson is a small place...really a university town. You can get from one place to another very easily and quickly, there are no freeways that criss cross so many cities, the pace is a bit laid back, and people are very friendly.

Gabby Giffords is well liked, even by people who have opposing political beliefs. However, it is difficult to not remember the rancorous campaign she just narrowly won in November; and that Arizona has become, in recent months, a cauldron of anger about a myriad of issues from immigration to the listing state economy, to healthcare.

As everyone has pointed out, this is a national tragedy, because Giffords is a sitting legislator and was targeted as she engaged in a democratic act of meeting her constituency in a public place. We all fear the consequences and the portents for the future.

Giffords has been on the sunny side of so many causes. She has worked on environmental issues, education, childcare, and healthcare. She takes a particular interest in treating our armed forces' warriors well.

An example of Giffords' reputation among nonprofits is the statement made by Michael Brune, Sierra Club executive director:

"Congresswoman Giffords has long been a hero to Sierra Club members and supporters in Arizona for her courageous defense of the state's beautiful landscapes and her tireless efforts to ensure our nation's energy independence, clean air and water....Yesterday's unspeakable act of violence is a reminder of the foundational importance of civil discourse to American democracy, and what can happen when that principle is upended."

We are all hopeful that Giffords will recover from her injury and be able to resume her political career and her activities in support of the causes that mean so much to her and the rest of us.

More:

• Gabby Giffords, Role Model for Girls -- Ms. Magazine Blog
• The Gabrielle Giffords Shooting - Irony and Coincidence, Integrity and Foreshadowing -- About.com: Women's Issues
• Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Environmental Leader, Shot in Arizona -- About.com Environmental Issues
• Gabrielle Giffords Bio -- About.com US Government Information
• Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Among a Dozen Shot in Tuscon Parking Lot -- About.com US Conservative Politics
• A Sad Day In Arizona -- About.com Phoenix
• Representative Giffords: Her causes and where we go from here -- Do Something.org

Photo: TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 09: People console each other at a makeshift memorial located outside the University Medical Center on January 9, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering inside the center, was one of 14 people seriously wounded and six killed the day before at a public event entitled 'Congress on your Corner' when a gunman opened fire outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)