ARIZONA: Recall Campaign Launched Against Gay Hero Daniel Hernandez

Right Wing Watch reports:

Daniel Hernandez Jr., the former intern credited with helping to save Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life when she was shot in 2011 and now an elected member of a Tucson-area school board, is facing a nasty recall election in which anonymous opponents are attacking him for being openly gay and for his advocacy on behalf of gun violence prevention. The story behind the recall is the kind of byzantine saga found only in local politics. Four of the five members of the Sunnyside Unified School District, which includes parts of Tucson and surrounding areas, are now facing recall petitions – two members who faced recall for their support of an embattled schools superintendent turned around and filed recall petitions on two members who opposed the superintendent, including Hernandez.

(Tipped by JMG reader Lorena)

They Deserve A Vote

The (non-gay) highlight of last night's speech.

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords Speaks At Senate Gun Control Hearing

Gabby Giffords To Battle NRA

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband have launched a new group and website to battle the gun lobby. From Americans For Responsible Solutions:

Dear fellow American,  Two years ago, a mentally ill young man shot me in the head, killed six of my constituents, and wounded 12 others. Since that terrible day, America has seen 11 more mass shootings – but no response from Congress to prevent gun violence. After the massacre of 20 children and six of their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary though, it’s clear: This time must be different. Americans for Responsible Solutions will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership by communicating directly with the constituents that elect them. Join us today, and tell your elected leaders that Americans are demanding responsible solutions to reduce gun violence.

The Giffords say that they both own guns and support the Second Amendment.

Seven Life Sentences For AZ's Mass Killer

Jared Loughner, the man who shot Rep. Gabby Giffords in the head and killed six others, was sentenced in Arizona today.

The facts in the case were never in doubt. Loughner was the only suspect. The key issue focused on whether he would avoid the death penalty because of his mental health. After the shooting, Loughner was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments. It was after those treatments that Loughner realized that he had only wounded Giffords, whom he saw as the personification of a government the shooter said he hated, prosecutor Wallace Kleindienst said in his comments to the court. U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns, who presided over the proceedings, had previously ruled that Loughner was capable of understanding the charges against him. This paved the way for a plea agreement designed to ensure that Loughner would spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole. Three months ago, Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges. The agreement includes the dismissal of 30 other charges and a sentence of seven consecutive life terms, followed by 140 years in prison. “The evidence clearly shows that he knew what he was doing, despite his mental illness,” Burns said in handing down the sentence. He called the length of the sentence justified.

As Giffords looked on silently, her husband spoke at the sentencing: "Gabby would trade her own life for one you took on that day. Every day is a continuous struggle to do the things she was once so very good at. Mr. Loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head but you haven't put a dent in her spirit and her commitment to make the world a better place. You tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own. But know this, and remember it always: You failed."

Gabby Giffords Recites Pledge At DNC

You might want to grab a tissue first.

ARIZONA: Openly Gay State Rep Declares Candidacy For Giffords' U.S. House Seat

"Moving forward I believe the best thing that we can do is to honor her strength, and conviction, and her leadership, by getting somebody, quickly, because we don’t have much time, into that seat who is going to carry forward in the tradition of moderate, bipartisan, common sense governance that she did so well for Southern Arizona." - Openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz, declaring his intent to run in the special election to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

If elected, Heinz would become the fifth openly gay member of the U.S. House. That number will change this fall with the retirement of Barney Frank and with Tammy Baldwin's run for the Senate. Heinz says if Giffords' district director wants to assume the remaining months of the current term, he'll suspend his own campaign until November.

Giffords Resigns To Full U.S. House

Giffords' resignation letter had to be read by an occasionally sobbing DNC head Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz. I watched this live this morning, you'll probably need a tissue.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Resigns

Heartbreaking.

Photo Of The Day - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Staffers of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today posted new photos of the congresswoman. Giffords continues to improve, but reportedly has difficulty forming complete sentences. She faces more cranial surgery.

Tucson Shooter Found Incompetent

Not very surprising.

Jared Loughner is incompetent to stand trial, a federal judge decided today. A psychologist and psychiatrist both found Loughner unable to help in his own defense or understand the proceedings. Doctors say he is schizophrenic. U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns said doctors report Loughner is unable to help with his defense because of his irrational distrust of lawyers. He doesn't understand the system and the role played by everyone, doctors said in their reports. Loughner doesn't think he can get a fair trial because of conspiracy, the judge was told by doctors.

Stand by for calls for Loughner's execution anyway.

ARIZONA: Illegal Gun Sales Continue

Gothamist notes: "One investigator was able to pay cash for a .9 mm semiautomatic even after telling the seller he probably wouldn't pass a background check. Instead of refusing the sale, as required by federal law, the gun peddler pockets the $500 and directs his shady customer toward the tent with the cheap ammunition."

NEW YORK CITY: Bloomberg Taps Daniel Hernandez For Gun Control Campaign

Arizona shooting hero Daniel Hernandez hustled up from last night's State Of The Union address to join NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial gun control campaign.

“It is my hope that President [Barack] Obama and Congress will work together right away to reform our gun background check system so that all records of dangerous people are in the system and all gun buyers will have to pass a thorough background check,” Hernandez said in a statement. While Congress is unlikely to act on any gun control legislation given the Republican majority in the House, Bloomberg has repeatedly argued for such measures in the wake of the shooting.

RELATED: In 2006 Bloomberg formed the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, a group that once numbered over 500 members, but has since dwindled due to a letter writing campaign from the NRA. Bloomberg has raised the ire of out-of-state law enforcement agencies by sending undercover NYPD detectives to gun shows in the states funneling illegal guns to NYC.

Utah GOP Rep Proposes Naming Browning Semi-Automatic The Official State Gun

Tea Party-backed GOP state Rep. Carl Wimmer wants the Browning semi-automatic to be named Utah's official state gun. This model Browning is very similar to the gun used in Arizona's massacre.

The bill to make the Browning M1911 the official gun breezed through a committee hearing this week and is scheduled to be debated by the full House as early as Wednesday. Republican Rep. Carl Wimmer said the state should have the gun as one of its state symbols to honor John Browning, a Utah native who invented it in 1911. "He invented a firearm that has defended American values and the traditions of this country for 100 years," Wimmer told the House Political Subdivisions Committee. The committee approved the bill to add a state gun on a 9-2 vote.

Next up: The official Utah state land mine! The official Utah state pipe bomb!

(Tipped by JMG reader Corey)

Tweet Of The Day - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

This is the first tweet from Giffords' account since the shooting and was surely made by a staffer, but it's very nice nonetheless.

Gay Hero Daniel Hernandez To Attend State Of The Union With Michelle Obama

Openly gay Arizona shooting hero Daniel Hernandez and his father will be seated with the First Lady at Tuesday's State Of The Union address.

"I'm both honored and excited to have the opportunity to travel to our nation's Capitol for a once in a lifetime event. Also the chance to bring my father along for his first trip to Washington, D.C. The State of the Union is a pivotal moment because it is our opportunity to find where we are and where we will be going as a nation in this upcoming year," Hernandez said.

Tuesday is also Hernandez' 21st birthday. That's quite a present.

AZ Rep. Trent Franks (R) Opposes Bill Banning High-Capacity Gun Clips

"People have tried to politicize this and make everything except the killer responsible." Guns don't kill people...etc etc.

ARIZONA: Teabaggers Demand Recall Of Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik

Pima County, Arizona's Sheriff Clarence Dupnik became a media sensation when he blamed Tea Party and GOP rhetoric for creating the violent atmosphere that may have led to the Tucson massacre. So rather than engage a bit of self-reflection, the teabaggers are calling for his head.

Sheriff Dupnik, who has occupied his post since 1980, won re-election most recently in 2008 with just under 65 percent of the vote. He won't face voters again until 2012. Perhaps. Fed-up constituents may not have to wait. Arizona is one of 18 states with a broadly worded recall law for public officials. Here's the key provision in the Arizona Constitution, Article VIII, Part 1: "Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office by the qualified electors of the electoral district from which candidates are elected to such office." If petitioners in Pima County collect 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the last election (about 90,000 would be needed) they can put Sheriff Dupnik on the ballot in a special recall election. In October 2003, California's voters ousted Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election - a far tougher task.

The Tucson Tea Party's campaign against Dupnik predates the Giffords tragedy and first began when he refused to enforce Arizona's racist immigration law.

Tucson Shooting Victim Arrested For Saying "You're Dead" To Guns Advocate

One of the victims in last Saturday's shooting in Tucson was arrested today after saying, "You're dead," to a man advocating for gun ownership. The arrest of Eric Fuller, 63, came at a taping of ABC's Town Hall, which was being moderated by Christiane Amanpour.

Toward the end of the taping, Amanpour brought up the issues of gun safety and mental health. As one member of the audience stood up and expressed his support for gun ownership, Fuller, seated near the front in an area reserved for victims and special guests, appeared increasingly frustrated and agitated. Fuller then swiveled in his chair, raised his camera and took a photo of the pro-gun speaker, muttering, "You're dead," according to Joel Tranter, who was sitting behind him. "I told him, 'You need to be respectful. You need to calm down,'" Tranter said. "He said, 'What'd you do, vote for this guy?'" As police officers approached to escort Fuller outside, he turned and shouted at the audience: "You whores!" The rest of the taping continued without incident and wrapped up about five minutes later. Outside, Fuller was arrested for making threats, said Capt. Byron Gwaltney of the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

According to a local Tucson television station, Fuller's comments were directed at Tuscon Tea Party founder Trent Humphries, who garnered some poor press of his own on Thursday when he blamed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for not carrying a firearm to prevent her own shooting.

Cops Find Photos Of AZ Shooter Posing With Gun While Wearing Red G-String

Investigators today said that they've received a bizarre series of photos of mass murderer Jared Lee Loughner. The photos show Loughner wearing a red g-string with a Glock pistol next to his naked buttocks.

The photos were turned over to the police by Walgreens, where Mr. Loughner had taken the 35-mm film to be developed on Jan. 7, the day before the shooting. In some of the photos he is holding the gun near his crotch, and in others, presumably shot in a mirror, he is holding the gun next to his buttocks, the police said. It was not yet clear when the photos were taken. According to a detailed timeline released by the Pima County Sherriff’s Department on Friday, Mr. Loughner posted one of the photos and a bulletin saying, “Goodbye friends,” on MySpace early Saturday morning.