Gabby Giffords: Trump’s ‘2nd Amendment’ Line Insinuates Violence

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz, speaks during the third day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz, speaks during the third day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, urged Americans in a statement Tuesday to condemn Donald Trump’s remark about “Second Amendment people” taking action to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing Supreme Court judges, saying it could incite violence.

In a statement, Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, urged Americans to draw a “bright red line” between political speech and advocating violence.

“Responsible, stable individuals won’t take Trump’s rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy,” their statement read. “They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed.”

They went on in the statement to urge Trump’s supporters and the GOP nominee himself to “to unambiguously condemn these remarks and the violence they insinuate.”

Giffords was shot in the head at a meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona in 2011, leaving her critically wounded. Six others were killed in the massacre.

She was able to walk onstage at the Democratic National Convention last month without assistance. There, she addressed delegates and argued Hillary Clinton would work to reduce gun violence if elected president.

Read the full statement below via the New York Daily News:

“Donald Trump might astound Americans on a routine basis, but we must draw a bright red line between political speech and suggestions of violence. Responsible, stable individuals won’t take Trump’s rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy. They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed.”
“What political leaders say matters to their followers. When candidates descend into coarseness and insult, our politics follow suit. When they affirm violence, we should fear that violence will follow.”
“It must be the responsibility of all Americans – from Donald Trump himself, to his supporters, to those who remain silent or oppose him – to unambiguously condemn these remarks and the violence they insinuate. The integrity of our democracy and the decency of our nation is at stake.”

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