Mark Kelly is the husband of Gabrielle Giffords. Spree killer Jared Lee Loughner shot the former U.S. Congresswoman in the head. At Loughner’s sentencing, Kelly launched into a gun control tirade. Here are the remarks as submitted to reporters before Kelly addressed the court [via politico.com]:
“In this state we have elected officials so feckless in their leadership that they would say, as in the case of Governor Jan Brewer, ‘I don’t think it has anything to do with the size of the magazine or the caliber of the gun.’ She went on and said, ‘Even if the shooter’s weapon had held fewer bullets, he’d have another gun, maybe. He could have three guns in his pocket’ – she said this just one week after a high capacity magazine allowed you to kill six and wound 19 others, before being wrestled to the ground while attempting to reload. Or a state legislature that thought it appropriate to busy itself naming an official Arizona state gun just weeks after this tragedy occurred, instead of doing the work it was elected to do . . .
We have a political class that is afraid to do something as simple as have a meaningful debate about our gun laws and how they are being enforced. We have representatives who look at gun violence, not as a problem to solve, but as the white elephant in the room to ignore. As a nation we have repeatedly passed up the opportunity to address this issue. After Columbine; after Virginia Tech; after Tucson and after Aurora we have done nothing.
Governor Brewer issued the following statement in response:
The Governor has long anticipated today. Like all Arizonans, she has looked forward to this time when justice would finally be served for our friends and neighbors killed or injured on that terrible January day in Tucson nearly two years ago. Governor Brewer knew some of the victims. She considers Gabby Giffords a friend, and has prayed for her recovery and that of the others wounded in the shooting. On this solemn occasion, Governor Brewer isn’t interested in engaging in politics.