Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) reacted Thursday to the shooting death of British MP Jo Cox, tweeting that Cox’s “assassination” was a “manifestation of a coarseness in our politics.”
Cox, 41, was elected to the House of Commons last year. She was scheduled to hold a meeting with constituents Thursday, but died after she was shot by a 52-year-old man near Leeds.
Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona while she was meeting with constituents. She survived her wounds, but six people, including a federal judge, died after a gunman opened fire on the crowd.
“The scores of events that I and so many others like Jo Cox have hosted represent the importance of a democracy connected to its citizens,” Giffords tweeted.
“I grieve for Jo Cox’s family, friends, constituents, and for the people of Great Britain,” she wrote in another tweet.
Read Giffords’ tweets below:
Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
The assassination of MP Jo Cox at the hands of a man driven by hatred is a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics that must stop.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
The scores of events that I and so many others like Jo Cox have hosted represent the importance of a democracy connected to its citizens.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
I grieve for Jo Cox’s family, friends, constituents, and for the people of Great Britain.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
And so many of Gabby’s former colleagues in the House, who clapped upon her return to the chamber after being shot in the head, STILL haven’t proposed on a single piece of legislation to curb gun violence!
But they clapped. And I’m sure they sent her prayers after the mass shooting that killed her staff, other community members, and nearly killed her.
From the thread about the horrible news:
Good, but why the need to put the word in the headline in single quotes?
It is a deep irony that a right wing assassin might have just killed brexit.
About as useless and meaningless as all those “Stand with the Troops” ribbon stickers so many people slapped on their vehicles back in the '00s. Maddening. The ribbon sticker manufacturers (Chinese, no doubt) made money. Gun manufacturers made money. The NRA made money. So … all is well for those who “clapped” and sent their “prayers.”
Gabby was my rep. in Congress.
When will the time be right to change our gun laws.?