Gabrielle Giffords, a U.S. representative from Arizona, was shot and killed at a public event this morning. Six others were also killed. She was forty years old. [Update 11:45 am: conflicting reports on whether she has died or in critical condition. Here's hoping the original reports were wrong.]I met Gabby at a reception a year ago. She seemed, on our very brief acquaintance, to be a really wonderful person — energetic, smart, full of optimism about doing good things as a member of Congress. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is
When a politician is shot, people will draw political conclusions. In this case, Gabby had been “targeted” by her political opponents using explicitly violent language. Sarah Palin released a map with a target site pointing at her district; her opponent had a “shoot an M16” fundraiser. (Via @mattyglesias.) At the time, various people were horrified at the casual invocation of this kind of violent rhetoric. Is it now inappropriate to link that rhetoric to the actual violence? I have no idea whether her killer was politically motivated in any way — he might have just been an unstable person with no agenda at all. Regardless, it would be good to tone down the language of deadly force in political discussions.
My heart goes out to her family and friends. We need more public servants like Gabby Giffords.
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