Good Luck, Gabby!

 

By Carl

 

Gabby Giffords will announce her resignation from Congress this week, about a year after she was brutally attacked by a gun nut in an Arizona parking lot.

 

Her courageous struggle back from her wounds should be an inspiration to anyone who says they can't. She could have given up at any point, but her goal was to take her seat in Congress once more despite the debilitating nature of her injuries and for this, she deserves universal applause and praise.

 

She's tasted her goal and realized that there was much more work involved in staying there. There is no shame in this. We can't begin to imagine what she went through to get this far, so her sacrifices may seem to be in vain, but they were not.

 

Her district is highly competitive and the races, both primaries and general election, ought to be barnburners. Giffords' endorsement will weigh heavily in this district, as she was a popular figure among her constituents, and they will barely have time to vet the competition.

 

It speaks volumes about how the most appropriate and dignified response to violence, particularly gun violence, is to brush oneself off and go on, but it also speaks volumes that a nut could grab a gun and shoot up a crowd so tragically.

 

(crossposted to Simply Left Behind)