Tag: Mark Kelly

The Story: Mark Kelly (D) and Martha McSally (R) are competing candidates in a special election for one of that state's seats in the US...

How the Parkland students took over Guardian US Read more One campaigner for gun reform who was present at the “coffee with constituents” meeting called US representative Ralph Norman’s actions “a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like”. According to local news reports, Norman placed the .38-caliber gun on a table and said: “I’m not going to be a Gabby Giffords.” He was referring to a former Democratic Arizona congresswoman who was shot outside a grocery store during a constituent gathering in 2011. Giffords’ husband, retired Nasa astronaut Mark Kelly, said in a statement that Norman was “no Gabby Giffords” and noted that his wife has dedicated her life to ending gun violence. “Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the [National Rifle Association] and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear,” Kelly said. Jeff Flake, a Republican Arizona senator, addressed Norman on Twitter. “I sincerely hope you never have to experience what my friend [Giffords] experienced,” he wrote. “But to suggest that she might have avoided being shot had she carried a weapon as she spoke to constituents that morning is inappropriate and inconsiderate.” Norman said he would display his gun again. “I’m tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem,” he told the Post and Courier. Guns are not the problem Ralph Norman Lori Carter, a schoolteacher from Charlotte, North Carolina, said she thought Norman’s actions were contradictory because Norman did not know if someone at the meeting had mental health issues. Instead, I felt unsafe when he insisted on showing us his loaded gun and keeping it out on the table for much of our conversation.” Three Republican South Carolina state lawmakers, meanwhile, introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow the state legislature to debate secession from the US if the federal government confiscated legally purchased firearms in the state.