TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With the political violence of the Charlie Kirk killing, there are Tucsonans remembering what it’s like when a gunman targets a political gathering.
A man with a gun shot 19 people at a community gathering hosted by then Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords. Six people died.
When people at the scene tackled the gunman, Patricia Maisch
was able to take away his extra ammunition.
She feels mental illness is no more common in the US than other countries, but guns are much more common:
“It doesn't matter what party you're from. My condolences go to Charlie Kirk's family and his friends and his associates, and it's just horrifying every time this happens. It doesn't have to happen. We don't have to live this way. We just need to make some national regulations.”
The gunman’s bullets badly wounded Ron Barber January 8th. He was Gabrielle Giffords District Director and served in Congress when she was wounded too badly in the shooting to continue in office.
Since then, he and a Republican have joined to lead the Arizona Democracy Resilience Network. One of its goals is to prevent political violence, especially against election workers.
Politically, Barber has very little in common with Charlie Kirk but Barber knows first hand how political violence can affect family and friends.
“My heart goes out to the family, and we have to stop this. This is not a country where political violence is warranted or needed. It's something that is inflaming the emotions in our community right now, and we have to turn a corner on this. We have to find ways to talk to each other in a civil manner, even though we might differ with each other. That's what our Arizona Democracy Resilience Network is about as well.”
