The official blog of New Mexico GLBTQ Centers and our regional gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community centers. This blog is written by volunteer authors in addition to our Executive Director.
Showing posts with label Federal Judge John Roll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Judge John Roll. Show all posts
Tucson residents hold vigil outside the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the aftermath of Saturday's attempted assassination and mass shooting.
It is not often that I find it necessary to set aside my press credentials and lend an opinion to public discourse on any given subject that I report on. However, that said, I need to comment not as an American which I am not, nor as a Canadian which I am, but rather as a human being and responsible adult living in a divisive and polarized society here in the United States.
Earlier today, former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, issued a video statement in response to the tragic assassination attempt on the life of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which resulted in Rep. Giffords being critically injured, six persons left dead, including a nine year old child and a sitting federal judge, and 13 others seriously injured.
In the initial hours as law enforcement commenced their investigative work, the Sheriff of Pima County, Ariz., in a press briefing, made an impassioned statement regarding what the good sheriff felt was of a contributory circumstance to the shooter’s actions — the elevated vitriolic rhetoric that has been seen, heard, and utilized in the American political process particularly over these past three years.
Commentators, reporters, and the public immediately took positions both pro and con on the sheriff’s remarks, which by the way, he has consistently maintained accurately reflect his viewpoint through the course of the unfolding aftermath in Tucson.
During the coverage of this tragic event, myself, colleagues, and others in the blogosphere and media included a particular graphic that had been employed in the campaign by the political action committee headed by Palin, advocating specific “targeting” of opposition congressional districts including Representative Giffords in the last election cycle.
The graphic(s) were clearly depicting a series “gunsight crosshairs” superimposed over various congressional districts including Congresswoman Giffords’ district. This was intentional on our part to illustrate, in part, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik’s assertions.
Dupnik has been under relentless fire from conservatives since his impassioned and impromptu plea for an end to hateful and violent rhetoric. So much in fact, as ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer reported last evening on “World News Tonight,” the Sheriff and conservative hard line radio pundit Rush Limbaugh have traded barbs.
Palin has faced criticism for images that look like gun crosshairs to identify the districts of Democrats who were vulnerable in the 2010 elections, that of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot on Saturday.
Responsibility lies “not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election,” Palin said.
Palin placed blame on the media.”[E]specially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn,” she said. “That is reprehensible.”
I want to highlight specifically the former governor’s choice of using the term ‘blood libel’ when attempting to deflect responsibility for her own rhetoric and her critique of the media.
By using the term “blood libel” to describe the criticism about political rhetoric after the shootings, Palin was inventing a new definition for an emotionally laden phrase.
Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-semitism and violent pogroms against Jews.
Given that Congresswoman Giffords is Jewish, its absolutely reprehensible to ‘coin’ a term to use in a public statement such as that made by today by Palin.
Instead of taking ownership and accountability for the mere chance that the troubled and obviously mentally at risk shooter might have been influenced by such rhetoric, Palin, and in fact nearly all of the so-called conservative right, have attempted to blame the poisonous atmosphere that surrounds the American political landscape on the opposition and those who decry such vitriol.
The New York Times reported this morning:
Ms. Palin was not the only one to respond to criticism Wednesday. Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed Republican who lost her Senate race against Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, also issued a statement defending herself against criticism.
“Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people’s Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant,” she said in the statement, according to media reports. “The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger.”
Ms. Angle said during the campaign that voters could pursue “Second Amendment remedies” if the political process doesn’t work for them. In the wake of the shooting, those remarks have been criticized anew.
But Ms. Angle said in her statement Wednesday that: “Finger-pointing towards political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known – that the shooter was obsessed with his twisted plans long before the Tea Party movement began.”
I see this as a massive effort to minimize the reality of this entire tragic event which no rational thinking individual cannot but help wonder what may have influenced the shooter’s decision, contributing to his apparent twisted mental state.
“We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults,” she said.
When is it acceptable to put gun sights on a political opponent in campaign literature, to encourage 2nd Amendment “solutions” and wanting your supporters to be “armed and dangerous?” This is definitely NOT nonviolent rhetoric, and this in no way “condems” violence.
I thought about embedding the former governor’s video recorded remarks, and decided that I am not going to be a party to further enabling her to spread a message that contains such a vile use of that term, attempting to redefine blood libel, in her efforts to be a ministrant to her core audience and followers and justify without holding herself accountable in a continuation of irresponsible political rhetoric.
TUCSON — Just three days after a bullet passed through Representative Gabrielle Giffords’s brain, and one day before the president was scheduled to come here to address the shooting rampage in which she was wounded, doctors said Tuesday that Ms. Giffords’s chances of survival were certain. She is able to breathe on her own, although she remains on a ventilator as a precaution.
What her recovery will look like, however, and how long it will take remain unclear.
“She has a 101 percent chance of survival,” said Dr. Peter Rhee the director of medical trauma at the University Medical Center, where Ms. Giffords is being treated. “I can’t tell whether she’s going to be in a vegetative state. I hope that she’s not and I don’t think she will be in a vegetative state, but I know that she’s not going to die.”
President Obama will deliver a speech here Wednesday evening at a memorial service for the victims of the attack. His aides said he would focus on the theme of service to country and avoid the debate about whether the state’s political climate might have played a role in the tragedy.
Instead, Mr. Obama, who was still working with his speechwriters on Tuesday, will call for unity among Americans, while trying to hold up the lives of the victims, including their service to government, as an example to all Americans. He will share some anecdotes about the victims from private phone calls he has made to the families, aides said.
Meanwhile, across Tucson, there was a flurry of efforts to address the psychological effects of Saturday morning’s shootings, which left six dead and 14 wounded. Two churches held memorial services Tuesday night, drawing large crowds.
In Phoenix, the State Legislature quickly passed an emergency law to block a controversial church that protests outside funerals from getting too close to the services planned in Tucson.
The measure, which keeps protesters 300 feet back from funerals, is intended to head off members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, who have praised the shooting and plan to picket the funeral on Thursday of Christina Green, a 9-year-old victim, and a service on Friday for Judge John M. Roll of Federal District Court.
“I was physically sick when I heard this,” said State Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who sponsored the measure. “Then I decided to do something. Nothing happens in one day in politics, but this did. This tragedy is nonpartisan. It’s human.”
Community volunteers were mobilizing to plan their own street-side memorial service to counter the protesters, with some planning to wear angel wings.
At the hospital, Ms. Giffords’s doctors said the outcome could have been far worse. They said she had done remarkably well so far. But they cautioned that there was little more they could do medically to help her improve.
Over the last several days, Ms. Giffords has repeatedly given nonverbal responses to her doctors’ commands, they said, and CAT scan X-rays have shown that there is no swelling, which continues to be the most serious threat. So far, doctors said, she has shown only slight movement on the right side of her body, raising questions about her functional neurological status. Doctors again declined to give some specific details about Ms. Giffords.
“This is the phase of the care where it’s so much up to her,” said Dr. G. Michael Lemole Jr., the hospital’s chief of neurosurgery, during a news conference Tuesday morning. “As long as we don’t backslide and as long as she holds her own, that’s good. That keeps us hopeful. But we have to play this really according to her timeline, not ours.”
Dr. Lemole said Ms. Giffords would remain connected to a ventilator as a precaution, to prevent pneumonia or infections in her windpipe. But because she cannot talk it is so far not possible for doctors to assess more complex brain functions.
For the last three days, Ms. Giffords has repeatedly gripped hands or flashed a finger after doctors prompted her. Dr. Rhee said Ms. Giffords appeared to be responding without prompts now, repeatedly flashing a thumbs-up at doctors and her husband, Mark Kelly, an astronaut.
“She has no right to look this good, and she does,” Dr. Lemole said.
Five other victims remained in the hospital on Tuesday, including Suzi Hileman, who had taken 9-year-old Christina Green to the event Saturday. Ms. Hileman is expected to recover from at least three gunshot wounds and a shattered hip. The most difficult path ahead will be grappling with the emotions, and guilt, over Christina’s death, her husband, Bill Hileman, said Tuesday.
Several times in the last three days, Mr. Hileman said, his wife has screamed “Christina! Christina!” as though she were having a flashback. “She keeps talking about how they had this incredibly tight grip on each other” when the shots began, he said. “She told me that they were almost breaking each other’s hands.”
Reporting was contributed by Lawrence K. Altman and Helene Cooper in Washington and Marc Lacey, Ford Burkhart, Ron Nixon, Lisa Button, Carli Brosseau, Will Ferguson and Clayton Norman in Tucson.
(THIS IS ACTUALLY A COPY OF NEW YORK TIMES' LIVE BLOG FROM EARLIER TODAY)
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and SARAH WHEATON
The flag flew at half-staff at the Capitol on Sunday.
Representative Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition after being shot in the head at a meet-and-greet in her Tucson area neighborhood Saturday. Police now say that 20 people in total were shot and that six people were killed in that shooting, including federal judge John Roll.
This live blog will try to capture the latest developments throughout the day.
We'll be back tomorrow, where we'll be watching the moment of silence at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, an update on Ms. Giffords's condition at around noon E.T., and Mr. Loughner's court appearance at around 4 p.m. E.T.
Sarah
7:08 P.M. |Drugs Kept Loughner Out of Army
The Times's Thom Shanker reports: A military official said Sunday that the suspect was not accepted by Army recruiters because he failed a drug screening test.
6:26 P.M. |Bill to Ban Crosshairs
Representative Bob Brady of Pennsylvania told The Caucus he plans to introduce a bill that would ban symbols like that now-infamous campaign crosshair map.
"You can't threaten the president with a bullseye or a crosshair," Mr. Brady, a Democrat, said, and his measure would make it a crime to do so to a member of Congress or federal employee, as well.
Asked if he believed the map incited the gunman in Tucson, he replied, "I don't know what's in that nut's head. I would rather be safe than sorry."
He continued, "This is not a wakeup call. This is a major alarm going off. We need to be more civil with each other. We need to tone down this rhetoric."
5:19 P.M. |Concern and Condolence From Space
Last night, Scott Kelly tweeted from the International Space Station: "I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, words of condolences and encouragement for the victims and their families." The astronaut is the brother-in-law of Ms. Giffords, and the twin of her husband, Captain Mark E. Kelly. Captain Kelly is also an astronaut, and he was scheduled to take the helm of the space station in three months, though that is now in doubt, the A.P. reports.
4:25 P.M. |Bloomberg on Arizona and Gun Violence
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York took to Twitter to reiterate one of his signature positions: "As I said in church today, the tragic shootings in AZ are a terrible reminder of gun violence in America. My prayers are with the victims."
4:10 P.M. |Evidence of Premeditation Detailed
Jared Lee Loughner's house in Tucson.
The federal complaint outlines discoveries from the investigation since the shooting on Saturday. In a search of Mr. Loughner's home, authorities found a note in a safe with a handwritten note saying, "I planned ahead," "My assassination," and "Giffords," as well as what appears to be Mr. Loughner's signature. Investigators also found a note, dated Aug. 30, 2007, addressed to "Mr. Jared Loughney" from Ms. Giffords's office thanking him for attending a "Congress in Your Corner" event in Tucson.
The complaint also details how Judge Roll came to be at the event. He received a call about it on Friday, and he came to speak to Ms. Giffords about the volume of cases at his federal district court -- bearing out the hypothesis offered by his colleague, Judge Alex Kozinski, to The Times's John Schwartz.
A Glock semi-automatic pistol that Mr. Loughner purchased on Nov. 30 in Tucson was recovered at the scene, according to the filing.
The United States Attorney in Arizona has filed five charges against Jared Lee Loughner: three charges of attempted murder (of Ms. Giffords and two members of her staff) and two charges of murdering federal employees (Judge Roll and Gabriel Zimmerman, the other Giffords staff member).
Mr. Loughner's first court appearance is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. in Phoenix.
3:26 P.M. |Security Briefing for Congress
In a conference call with members of both parties, Mr. Boehner said that he had the Sergeant at Arms, Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct an "in-depth security overview" for members of Congress on Wednesday, as well as for district directors.
2:52 P.M. |Sheriff: Second Suspect Was Cab Driver; Not Involved
My colleague Marc Lacey reports the following about the second suspect in the Arizona shooting:
The Pima County sheriff said on Sunday that the search for a second person had ended. He said that a man seen in a security video shortly before the suspect shooter went on his spree had been found and interviewed and cleared of any involvement in the shootings.
Investigators said that the second man was a taxi driver who drove the suspected gunman to the scene. Upon arriving there, the passenger said he did not have change and he and the taxi driver went into the supermarket for change and the two then walked out together and separated.
2:43 P.M. |Obama Calls for Moment of Silence Monday
President Obama will delay his scheduled trip to New York on Tuesday and will call for a nationwide moment of silence at 11 a.m. on Monday, the White House announced Sunday.
"Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern standard time, I call on Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, including those still fighting for their lives," the president said in a statement. "It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart."
The president will observe the moment of silence with White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House, the statement said.
The president had been scheduled to travel to a General Electric battery factory in Schenectady on Tuesday.
In addition, the president issued a proclamation ordering that flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims of the shooting.
Here is the proclamation:
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on Saturday, January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, January 14, 2011. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
2:39 P.M. |Conservatives Take Issue With Links to Rhetoric
Erick Erickson, a leading conservative blogger, argues on Redstate.com that the media and left wing commentators are putting conservatives in danger by accusing them of being complicit in the Arizona shootings.
"By perpetuating the lie - by even treating it as a legitimate topic of consideration to revisit the accusations of violence and hate the media tried to run with prior to the November election - that the right and the tea party incited this evil act, the left and media may very well incite violence against the right," Mr. Erickson writes.
Mr. Erickson's post is similar to others on conservative websites which have taken issue with the argument that the heated political rhetoric may have influenced the gunman in the incident.
"The shooter is neither left-wing nor right-wing. He is crazy and evil - a word not used enough," Mr. Erickson writes. "The guy is very clearly not of the tea party movement, not a Dittohead, not led by Sarah Palin, me, or anyone else on the right."
He adds: "But the media, at least as of this morning and its accumulated coverage so far on this matter, could not care less. The media is intent on yet again exploring right-wing rhetoric and tea party hate. Left-wingers yesterday were falling all over themselves to blame everyone on the right for the horrific shooting."
Jack Shafer, writing in Slate, agrees with Mr. Erickson that the political rhetoric is not to blame.
He writes: "For as long as I've been alive, crosshairs and bull's-eyes have been an accepted part of the graphical lexicon when it comes to political debates. Such "inflammatory" words as targeting, attacking, destroying, blasting, crushing, burying, knee-capping, and others have similarly guided political thought and action. Not once have the use of these images or words tempted me or anybody else I know to kill. I've listened to, read-and even written!-vicious attacks on government without reaching for my gun. I've even gotten angry, for goodness' sake, without coming close to assassinating a politician or a judge."
"From what I can tell, I'm not an outlier," Mr. Shafer adds. "Only the tiniest handful of people-most of whom are already behind bars, in psychiatric institutions, or on psycho-meds-can be driven to kill by political whispers or shouts. Asking us to forever hold our tongues lest we awake their deeper demons infantilizes and neuters us and makes politicians no safer."
Those arguments anger those on the left. In a Twitter message, Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, called Shafer's article "nonsensical crap."
2:08 P.M. |Canada Offers Official Condolences For Arizona Shooting
Condolences continued to pour in Sunday for Ms. Giffords and the others shot in Arizona. Here's one from the foreign minister in Canada:
Canada Offers Condolences After Tragedy in Arizona
(No. 11 - January 8, 2010 - 11:30 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the shooting that took place this afternoon in Arizona.
"On behalf of the government and all Canadians, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of federal judge John Roll and the other innocent victims of this senseless act of violence. In particular, I offer sympathy to the family of the young girl among the victims, whose entire life was ahead of her.
"I would also like to wish a quick recovery to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and to all others who were injured.
"Canada stands with the people of the United States, our valued friend and neighbour, in this time of grief.
"Regardless of where they occur, attacks against democratically elected officials affect and undermine the safety of us all."
2:01 P.M. |Shooting Renews Debate Over Gun Control
The shooting in Arizona has once again sparked debate over the issue of gun control and the availability of guns like the one that Jared Laughner allegedly used in the incident.
Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a Democratic colleague of Ms. Giffords, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that gun laws "have to be examined."
And in an online posting, Paul Helmke, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, wrote that "we can and should do more to address the easy access to high-powered guns that make it too easy for dangerous and irresponsible people to disrupt and destroy the lives of innocent Americans, and political leaders who are simply trying to serve their communities and our country."
Jim Brady, the former White House press secretary, and his wife, Sarah, issued their own statement, according to USA Today. The statement reads: "We know the deep pain and horror that all the family members and loved ones who have been made victims by this man and his gun are going through. We wish we didn't, but we know it too well."
Jim Brady was shot in the head during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
But Republican lawmakers said Sunday morning that new gun laws are not the answer to stopping shootings like the one in Arizona.
"It's probably about a very sick individual and what should have been done for that person," said Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on Fox News Sunday. "But the weapons don't kill people. It's the individual that killed these people."
Mr. Paul noted that Ms. Giffords, while a Democrat, is an avid supporter of gun rights in her state.
"Interestingly, Representative Giffords was a defender of the Second Amendment and is a defender of the Second Amendment," Mr. Paul noted. "So no, I don't think that plays into this at all. Really, I think they are unrelated."
1:38 P.M. |Couric to Anchor CBS News From Tucson Monday
Katie Couric, the CBS News anchor, becomes the latest media personality to head to Tucson in the wake of the Arizona shootings. A spokeswoman for the network emails that Ms. Couric will anchor Monday's broadcast from Tucson.
UPDATE: ABC's Diane Sawyer will also film her news program in Tucson on Monday.
1:35 P.M. |Sheriff: Loughner Was at 2007 Event With Giffords
F.B.I. Director Robert S. Mueller III and Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on Sunday.
The suspect in the Arizona shooting, Jared Loughner, was apparently at a similar meet-and-greet event with Ms. Giffords in 2007, authorities said Sunday.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told reporters that "there was some correspondence between Giffords' office and him about a similar event and he was invited to attend."
Sheriff Dupnik said he did not know anything more about the 2007 event or why Loughner would have been invited to it.
1:27 P.M. |Woman Tried to Stop Shooter as He Tried to Reload
The alleged shooter in Arizona was attempting to reload his weapon when a woman grabbed the gun's magazine and ripped it away from him, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told reporters Sunday.
Mr. Dupnik said the woman was injured as she attempted to stop the suspect, who then tried to put another magazine in the gun, but the spring in the magazine failed.
The sheriff said that allowed two men to subdue the suspect until authorities arrived.
1:24 P.M. |F.B.I.: Domestic Terrorism Charges Possible in the Future
Mr. Mueller, the director of the F.B.I., said it is possible that the suspect in the case of the shooter could be eventually charged as a terrorist under the nation's domestic terrorism laws.
"I am not at all going to preclude the possibility that additional charges might be brought under the domestic terrorism statutes as the investigation continues," Mr. Mueller said.
1:20 P.M. |Rabbi: "This Is Our Time to Draw Together"
My colleague, Sam Dolnick, reports from Tuscon about a vigil Sunday morning for Ms. Giffords:
In Tucson, more than 100 people packed into the reform synagogue Congregation Chaverim Sunday morning for a prayer vigil for Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was a member, along with the other victims of the shooting.
It was the synagogue where Ms. Giffords, Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman, had her wedding to Navy captain Mark E. Kelly, officiated by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron in 2007.
The congregation brought out dozens of extra folding chairs, and congregants, their arms around each other swayed back and forth as they sang mourning prayers for the dead and wounded. Dozens of the people in the congregation knew Ms. Giffords but many others who didn't know her said they admired her and came to paid their respects. Some of those who gathered were not Jewish.
Rabbi Aaron was fighting back tears from the bema, as she talked about Ms. Giffords and asked the congregation to hold "Gabby's radiant smile" in their mind as they prayed. "This is our time to draw together," she said, adding that Ms. Giffords "has made such a difference in our Tucson community. May these prayers reach out to every person in this city of ours."
She concluded, "May we see each other in a new and different way. May we learn to truly listen to each other."
The service at the small multigenerational synagogue was one of many prayers and vigils going on today in Tucson for the victims of Saturday's shootings.
1:15 P.M. |Democrats Cancel Push Back Against Repeal Efforts
The shooting in Arizona continues to have impact on the political conversation in Washington.
Organizing for America, the political arm of President Obama and the Democratic National Committee, on Sunday announced that it was postponing plans to fight back against the Republican efforts to repeal health care legislation.
On Saturday, Republicans in the House announced they would delay the repeal efforts that had been scheduled for this coming week.
Here is the email from Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the DNC:
The events in the advisory below have been postponed due to yesterday's tragedy in Arizona.
***** MEDIA ADVISORY FOR JANUARY 10-12, 2011*****
Organizing for America Volunteers to Call On Members of Congress to Oppose Repeal of the Affordable Care Act
Activists will hold press conferences, host phone banks urging Congressional leaders to vote against repeal of health care law already benefitting millions of families and small businesses
Washington, D.C. - With Republicans planning to vote on legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act next week, OFA volunteers across the country will hold 71 press conferences in key districts around the country next week calling on Members of Congress to defend the tens of millions of Americans who are already benefiting from this historic law. OFA activists will hold press conferences outside the offices of Republican Representatives highlighting people in their communities who have been positively affected by provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Volunteers will also host phone banks to urge Republican Members of Congress to vote against repeal.
A repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be detrimental to tens of millions of Americans and blow a hole in the national deficit. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, 5,615,000 people with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage, 3,765,298 seniors would pay more out of pocket for prescription drugs, and 24,658,000 young adults would no longer be able to stay on their parents insurance. On top of the harm to Americans, the Congressional Budget Office has projected a repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit over the next ten years.
For more information on how the Affordable Care Act is impacting communities around the country, you can go to http://progress.barackobama.com/healthcare.html.
1:12 P.M. |FBI Director: Charges to be Filed Sunday Afternoon
FBI Director Robert Mueller said there is "no information at this time to suspect any specific threat remains" in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona.
He declined to speculate about a motive for the shooting. And he did not comment on questions about laws in Arizona that allow people to carry concealed weapons.
He said his agency was working with other agencies to "ensure that justice is done."
Regarding the "person of interest" that was announced by the Pima County sherff, Mr. Mueller said they are trying to identify a man they believe entered the store with the suspect. He said they do not believe the second individual is involved in the actual shooting, "but we need to identify him."
Mr. Mueller said he believes that charges in the shooting will be filed Sunday afternoon.
"I do believe he wil be charged with the assault on the congresswoman, the killing of Judge Roll, and the assault on the other staffers," Mr. Mueller said.
He said there have been discussions about the possibility about other charges that may be brought in federal or state court.
12:59 P.M. |VIDEO: Mother of Girl Says She Was "Robbed" of Princess
Roxanna Green, the mother of the nine-year-old girl who was killed in the Arizona shootings, said she was called by a friend to say that she should get to the hospital quickly on Saturday.
"We just all rushed over there," Ms. Green said on Fox News (see video below). "They told us the bad news, that she had a bullet hole through the chest. They tried to save her but she just couldn't make it. I saw her right after that. I spent a lot of time with her and said goodbye to her."
Ms. Green said she was "trying to be positive and strong, because that's what Christina would want." But she was clearly upset.
"I can't even put it into words," she said in the interview. "I can't express the devastation and hurt and how we were so robbed of our beautiful, beautiful princess."
12:41 P.M. |No Labels Group Calls For More Civility, Respect
No Labels, the group formed to promote a middle road in politics, issued a statement Sunday.
"The horrific act of violence that occurred Saturday in Arizona has shocked us all to our core and spurred many Americans to ask some hard questions, both about this specific incident and the larger political forces that may have contributed to it. We at No Labels believe this kind of conversation, as painful as the circumstances surrounding it are, is in the best interests and traditions of our country. At times of crisis, when our fundamental democratic values are threatened, we come together as Americans and directly confront our challenges.
But for our country to move forward from this tragedy, we have to talk carefully as well as candidly. We do not yet know all the facts behind this senseless act, and it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to rush to judgment or point fingers of blame at the moment, as some sadly have already done. This is no time for self-aggrandizement or partisan point-scoring -- that's part of the problem, not the solution.
It is clearly, though, a time for self-reflection, as Sheriff Dupnik eloquently put it. Based on the immediate and intuitive reactions of so many Americans, we know enough to say that something is deeply wrong with our political discourse -- and that with this incident, a dangerous line has been crossed. As we grieve for those who died and pray for the recovery of those who were injured, we hope this moment of mourning will lead us to engage each other with more civility and respect and see each other not as opponents or enemies but as Americans."
12:32 P.M. |Fox: Alleged Shooter May Have Ties to Racist Group
Fox News is reporting that the suspect in the Arizona shooting may have been influenced by American Renaissance, which the news channel describes as a pro-white racial publication.
On its Web site, Fox News cites an internal department of Homeland Security memo that says the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, may have ties to the publication or the group that puts it out.
According to Fox News: "The DHS memo states that there is "no direct connection" between Loughner and the group, "but strong suspicion is being directed at AmRen / American Renaissance. Suspect is possibly linked to this group. (through videos posted on his MySpace and YouTube account.). The group's ideology is anti-government, anti-immigration, anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti-Semitic."
Officials at the Homeland Security department said Sunday morning they do not believe the document is from their department.
The network reports that the group's leader, Jared Taylor, denied ever having heard of Loughner until Saturday.
12:19 P.M. |Giffords Able to Follow Simple Commands; In Coma Now
Gabrielle Giffords was able to respond to simple commands -- like squeezing her hand or showing two fingers -- after two hours of surgery Saturday night, but her injuries are very serious and she remains in critical condition, her doctors said Sunday.
Speaking in a news conference at the hospital, her doctors said the bullet went through the left side of her brain, from the back to the front, but -- importantly, they said -- it did not cross into the right side of her brain.
The doctors said Ms. Giffords remains unable to speak on a ventilator. She is in a medically-induced coma but has been woken up a couple of times to be examined by the doctors.
The chief of neurosurgery, Michael Lemole, said that he is "cautiously optimistic" about her recovery, but he said that recovery could take months or longer depending on how the next few days go.
"The things that are most concerning to us is if the bullet crosses from one hemisphere to the other, from one side to the other," he said. "That was not the case."
11:49 A.M. |Shooting Dominated National & International Headlines
The headlines in papers across the country -- and even in some papers across the world -- were striking. Here are a few of them.
11:32 A.M. |President Orders Flags at Half-Mast; Talks With Kelly
President Obama spoke to Mark Kelly, the husband of Ms. Giffords, Saturday night and expressed "his deep concern and full support," according to Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman.
The flags at the White House have been ordered to half-mast, Mr. Shapiro said. Mr. Obama was briefed on the shootings again Sunday morning at about 9 a.m. by his top homeland security adviser, John Brennan.
11:23 A.M. |VIDEO: Speaker Boehner Makes Remarks Saturday Morning
House Speaker John Boehner directed that the flags on the House side of the Capitol fly at half-mast in honor of Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, an aide to Ms. Giffords. Mr. Zimmerman was one of the people killed in the shooting Saturday.
Here are Mr. Boehner's comments:
11:15 A.M. |Palin Advisers Respond to Criticism About Target Map
One of Sarah Palin's top aides responded Sunday to mounting criticism that she had helped to incite the kind of violence that exploded in Arizona at a meet-and-greet by Ms. Giffords, wounding 20 and killing six.
In the wake of the shooting, many people drew attention to a map of the United States that had been part of one of Ms. Palin's Web sites that showed targets on the districts of lawmakers who supported President Obama's health care legislation.
Ms. Giffords was one of the targeted lawmakers, as she noted in an interview on MSNBC last year.
In a radio interview Saturday night, one of Ms. Palin's top aides, Rebecca Mansour, said of the map of lawmakers: "We never, ever, ever intended it to be gun sights." Ms Mansour said attemps to tie Ms. Palin to the violence were "obscene" and "appalling."
"I don't understand how anyone can be held responsible for someone who is completely mentally unstable like this," Ms. Mansour said. "Where I come from the person who is actually shooting is culpable. We had nothing whatsoever to do with this."
She added: "People who knew him said that he is left wing and very liberal. But that is not to say that I am blaming the left for him either."
Ms. Mansour, who helps run SarahPAC, Ms. Palin's political action committee, made the remarks to Tammy Bruce, a radio talk show host, on a podcast made public on the internet. Ms. Bruce is introduced at the beginning of her show as "a chick with a gun and a microphone."
Ms. Bruce complained on her show that liberals were incorrectly politicizing the shooting by blaming conservatives.
"We all know that the liberals, there's something wrong with them," Ms. Bruce said. "The reaction on the left was to start blaming somebody."
Ms. Bruce added that: "Saying that a mass murdering crazy guy is representative somehow of the political dialogue going on, especially with the non violent Tea Party movement....and yet there are attach this to the tea party and other politicians."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly attributed a Twitter message to Ms. Palin. The message was actually from a parody site designed to look like Ms. Palin's Twitter feed.
John M. Roll, the chief federal judge in Arizona, was fatally wounded in the attack near Tucson on Saturday that killed five others and wounded 19 people, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
“We’re all in kind of a state of shock here,” said Richard H. Weare, the clerk of the Federal District Court for Arizona, after hearing from the Federal Marshals Service, which confirmed the death.
President Obama praised Judge Roll as a jurist “who has served America’s legal system for almost 40 years.”
Judge Roll was appointed by the first President George Bush in 1991 and has been chief judge since 2006. His district is part of the sprawling Ninth Circuit, which covers federal courts throughout the West. He served as a state judge and as an assistant United States attorney for Arizona before he was appointed him to the federal bench.
The chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Alex Kozinski, described Judge Roll as a tireless advocate for his district: “Of all the chief judges of the circuit, I must say he was always the hardest working — always looking out for his district. He’ll be a great loss to his family, but he’ll also be a great loss to the federal judiciary.”
He said Judge Roll was a good friend who sought increased federal resources for his district, which had seen a surge in felony cases related to drugs and crime along the border with Mexico.
Judge Roll was no stranger to the risks of public service. He and his wife were provided protection by the Federal Marshals Service in 2009 in connection with a case in which a group of Mexicans sued an Arizona rancher for $32 million. They accused the rancher of civil right abuses for stopping people at gunpoint as they crossed his land and then turning them over to the Border Patrol.
After Judge Roll ruled that the case could go forward, he received death threats. Judge Roll told The Arizona Republic that the situation was “unnerving and invasive.”
When several of those making the threats were identified, he declined to press charges at the recommendation of the Marshals Service.
“I have a very strong belief that there is nothing wrong with criticizing a judicial decision,” he said. “But when it comes to threats, that is an entirely different matter.”
John McCarthy Roll was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1969 and the university’s law school in 1972. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, three sons and five grandchildren.
Killings of federal judges are rare. The last to be murdered in office was Judge Robert Vance, who was killed by a mail bomb at his home in Mountain Brook, Ala., in 1989.
On Dec. 21, Judge Roll sent an e-mail to Judge Kozinski with an attached letter from Ms. Giffords and another member of Congress from Arizona, Ed Pastor, a Democrat. The two members of Congress encouraged the Ninth Circuit to “declare a judicial emergency” to help cope with the increased workload by extending deadlines under the speedy trial act. In the e-mail, Judge Roll wrote that the Congressional letter was “unsolicited but very much appreciated.”
Judge Kozinski speculated — “just a guess,” he said — that Judge Roll might have gone to the event on Saturday to thank Ms. Giffords for the letter. “And he gets killed for it.”
Judge Kozinski added, “If it can happen to him, it can happen to any of us.”
In a statement, John G. Roberts Jr., the chief justice of the United States, said: ”We in the judiciary have suffered the terrible loss of one of our own. Judge John Roll was a wise jurist who selflessly served Arizona and the nation with great distinction.”
Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who lives in Arizona, said she was devastated by the news. “It is a horrible event, and heartbreaking,” she said. “The judge was just wonderful.”
“It sounds like something that might happen in some place like Afghanistan,” she said. “It shouldn’t happen in Tucson, Ariz., or anyplace else in the United States.”
The parking lot in Tucson where Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and others were shot.
TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and 18 others were shot Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Ms. Giffords was meeting with constituents.
Six of the victims died, among them John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl, the Pima County sheriff, Clarence W. Dupnik, said.
A 22-year-old suspect was in custody, law enforcement officials said. But at a Saturday evening news conference, investigators said they were looking for an accomplice, believed to be in his 50s, who may have assisted in the attack.
Ms. Giffords, 40, who the authorities said was the target of the attack, was said to be in very critical condition at the University Medical Center in Tucson, where she was operated on by a team of neurosurgeons. Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the hospital’s trauma and critical care unit, said that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.
Investigators identified the gunman as Jared Lee Loughner, 22, and said that he was refusing to cooperate with the authorities and had invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.
Pima Community College said Mr. Loughner had been suspended for conduct violations and withdrew in October after five instances of classroom or library disruptions that involved the campus police.
The authorities were seen entering the Loughner family house about five miles from the shooting scene — an unincorporated area north of Tucson.
The shootings raised questions about potential political motives, and Sheriff Dupnik blamed the toxic political environment in Arizona. There were immediate national reverberations as Democrats denounced the fierce partisan atmosphere in Ms. Gifford’s district and top Republicans quickly condemned the violence.
Mark Kimble, an aide to Ms. Giffords, said the shooting occurred about 10 a.m. in a small area between an American flag and an Arizona flag. He said that he went into the store for coffee, and that as he came out the gunman started firing.
Ms. Giffords had been talking to a couple about Medicare and reimbursements, and Judge Roll had just walked up to her and shouted “Hi,” when the gunman, wearing sunglasses and perhaps a hood of some sort, approached and shot the judge, Mr. Kimble said. “Everyone hit the ground,” he said. “It was so shocking.”
The United States Capitol Police, which is investigating the attack, cautioned lawmakers “to take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal security.”
Because of the shootings, House Republicans postponed all legislation to be considered on the floor this week, including a vote to repeal the health care overhaul. The House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, said lawmakers needed to “take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today’s tragedy.”
Speaking of Ms. Giffords’s condition, Dr. Rhee said at a news conference, “I can tell you at this time, I am very optimistic about her recovery.” He added, “We cannot tell what kind of recovery, but I’m as optimistic as it can get in this kind of situation.”
Several aides to Ms. Giffords were wounded, and her director of community outreach, Gabe Zimmerman, 30, was among those killed. The Arizona Republic said that the girl had been identified as Christina Taylor Green, a third grader. Dorthy Murray, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79, also died at the scene, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
Ms. Giffords, who represents the Eighth District, in the southeastern corner of Arizona, has been an outspoken critic of the state’s tough immigration law, which is focused on identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants, and she had come under criticism for her vote in favor of the Democrats’ health care law.
Friends said she had received threats over the years. Judge Roll had been involved in immigration cases and had previously received death threats.
The police said Ms. Giffords’s district office was evacuated late Saturday after a suspicious package was found. Officers later cleared the scene.
Ms. Giffords, widely known as Gabby, had been speaking to constituents in a supermarket alcove under a large white banner bearing her name when a man surged forward and began firing. He tried to escape but was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody by the police.
Jared Lee Loughner
The event, called “Congress on Your Corner,” was outside a Safeway supermarket and was the first opportunity for constituents to meet with Ms. Giffords since she was sworn in for a third term on Wednesday.
Ms. Giffords was part of the Democratic class of 2006 that swept Democrats into the majority in the House. She narrowly won re-election in November, while many fellow Democrats were toppled and the House turned to Republican control.
“I saw the congresswoman talking to two people, and then this man suddenly came up and shot her in the head and then shot other people,” said Dr. Steven Rayle, a witness to the shootings and former emergency room doctor who now works at a hospice. “I think it was a semiautomatic, and he must have got off 20 rounds.”
Dr. Rayle said that Ms. Giffords slumped to the ground and that staff members immediately rushed to her aid. “A staffer had his arm around her, and she was leaning against the window of the Safeway,” the doctor said. “He had a jacket or towel on her head.”
At least one of the other shooting victims helped Ms. Giffords, witnesses said.
Television broadcasts showed a chaotic scene outside a normally tranquil suburban shopping spot as emergency workers rushed to carry the wounded away in stretchers. Some of the victims were taken from the site by helicopter, three of which had arrived.
Law enforcement officials said that the congresswoman had received numerous threats.
Congressional leaders of both parties issued statements throughout the day expressing outrage at the shooting as well as concern and prayers for Ms. Giffords and her family.
The new House speaker, John A. Boehner, said: “I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve.
“Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country.”
Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Republican who serves in Washington with Ms. Giffords, issued one of the strongest statements, saying: “I am horrified by the violent attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion. I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families.”
He added, “Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law.”
Ms. Giffords is a centrist Democrat who won re-election in part by stressing her strong support for gun rights and for tougher immigration controls, including tighter border security, even though she opposed the controversial Arizona law.
Last March, after the final approval of the Democrats’ health care law, which Ms. Giffords supported, the windows of her office in Tucson were broken or shot out in an act of vandalism. Similar acts were reported by other members of Congress.
In August 2009, when there were demonstrations against the health care measure across the nation, a protester who showed up to meet Ms. Giffords at a supermarket event similar to Saturday’s was removed by the police when the pistol he had holstered under his armpit fell and bounced on the floor.
In an interview at the Capitol this week, Ms. Giffords said she was excited to count herself among the Democrats who joined the new Republican majority in reading the Constitution aloud from the House floor. She said she was particularly pleased with being assigned the reading of the First Amendment.
“I wanted to be here,” she said. “I think it’s important. Reflecting on the Constitution in a bipartisan way is a good way to start the year.”
As a Democrat, Ms. Giffords is something of anomaly in Arizona and in her district, which has traditionally tilted Republican. Last year, she barely squeaked to victory over a Republican challenger, Jesse Kelly. But she had clearly heard the message that constituents were dissatisfied with Democratic leaders in Washington.
At the Capitol last week, Ms. Giffords refused to support the outgoing Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, in her symbolic contest with the Republican, Mr. Boehner of Ohio. Instead, she cast her vote for Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement.
“It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does: listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference Saturday, calling her a “friend of mine” and an “extraordinary public servant.” “I know Gabby is as tough as they come,” he said. “Obviously, our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain.” “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this,” he said.
The shooting mobilized officials at the White House and throughout the highest levels of government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, who in 2007 officiated at the wedding of Ms. Giffords and the astronaut Mark E. Kelly, and leads Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, said the congresswoman had never expressed any concern about her safety.
“No fear. I’ve only seen the bravest possible, most intelligent young congresswoman,” Rabbi Aaron said. “I feel like this is really one of those proverbial — seemingly something coming out of nowhere.”
At Ms. Giffords’s district office, a group of about 50 people formed a prayer circle. Chris Cole, a Tucson police officer whose neighborhood beat includes the district office, said of the shooting, “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen in Tucson.”
Behind the office, in the parking lot, campaign volunteers stood around a car with the door open, listening to a live radio broadcast of a hospital news conference updating the congresswoman’s condition. A cheer went up when it was announced that she was still alive.
The volunteers included Kelly Canady and her mother, Patricia Canady, both longtime campaign workers.
Patricia Canedy had worked for Ms. Giffords since she served in the State Senate while Kelly, her daughter, moved to Tucson 13 years ago and was active in last year’s campaign and in the health care debate.
“She’s one of those people who remembers you. She always spoke to me by my first name,” Kelly Canady said. “She loved everybody. She was very easy to talk to. She was one of the main reasons I will stay involved in politics.”
Marc Lacey reported from Tucson, and David M. Herszenhorn from Washington. Reporting for the Arizona shooting coverage was contributed by Emmarie Huetteman, Janie Lorber, Michael D. Shear and Ashley Southall from Washington; Lisa M. Button, Ford Burkhart, Devlin Houser, Ron Nixon, Nancy Sharkey and Joe Sharkey from Tucson; J. David Goodman and Sarah Wheaton from New York; and Kitty Bennett from Tampa, Fla. source
Local politicians responded to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and others in Arizona. Giffords survived the shooting but at least five others died, including federal judge John Roll.
Rep. Martin Heinrich, who represents New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, said in a statement that Giffords has been “a tireless advocate for military families, and one of the most talented Democratic leaders of my generation.”
“While we do not yet have all the facts, an assassination attempt of this nature is an attack on our democratic process itself,” Heinrich’s statement continued. “My thoughts and prayers go out to her, her husband and family and to all the victims and their families.”
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who represents New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, was “shocked and deeply saddened at the news” about Giffords.
“She is a dedicated public servant who cares deeply for the people of Arizona,” Luján said. “My thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Giffords and the family and friends of all those injured and killed in this heinous act.”
New Mexico Democratic Party chairman Javier Gonzales said in a statement, “I ask all New Mexicans to keep Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her family, staff and the victims of this tragedy in their thoughts and prayers as they struggle through this difficult time.”
Update, 4:18 p.m.
Sen. Tom Udall, who served with Giffords for two years in the House before becoming a Senator, said in a statement, “Today, she was answering her call to public service when these unspeakable acts of violence took place. Gabby, her staff and all of the victims of this horrific act are my family’s thoughts and prayers.”
Udall said that Giffords is “remarkably intelligent” and “a warm and compassionate individual.”
Update, 4:50 p.m.
“This is a tragic assault on Congresswoman Giffords, her staff and her constituents,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman said in a statement. “Like all Americans, I extend my sympathies to the families who lost loved ones in this tragedy, and hope that Congresswoman Giffords and everyone who was injured in this terrible incident can recover.”
Update, 4:55 p.m.
“This atrocious act is not only an attack on Gabrielle, but on the Constitution she has consistently labored to uphold, and the freedoms she fights to protect,” Rep. Steve Pearce said in a statement. “This is an attack on all Americans: our freedom of speech, our freedom to interact with a government who will listen.”
Pearce said he first got to know Giffords when both traveled to Iraq to visit troops in 2007.
