# Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in the head? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904 "2011-01-08T18:36:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/421 "2011-01-20T02:36:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > This is all great news. I hope Jared Loughner is being kept updated on Giffords’s condition and that it is absolutely eating him up inside. Although I doubt he feels anything for the six dead and 13 others injured. I can’t imagine him feeling anything remotely akin to compassion for his victims. I hope that at least he knows even as a political assassin at point blank range with no real security around he’s a failure; the only people he killed were old unarmed civilians and a small child. His insanity will probably save his life though personally I could vote death and sleep fine. The odds are overwhelmign that he’s going to be dangerous as long as he’s alive and that he’s never going to be remotely useful or productive and needs to be dead. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/422 "2011-01-20T02:46:39Z")
That was my point. I hope Loughner is being made to know how much of a miserable failure he is when the intended target of his attack is defying the odds and making so much progress in a short time. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/423 "2011-01-20T03:13:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I hope Jared Loughner is being kept updated on Giffords’s condition and that it is absolutely eating him up inside. > [@Sampiro](#): > > I hope that at least he knows even as a political assassin at point blank range with no real security around he’s a failure… > [@cochrane](#): > > I hope Loughner is being made to know how much of a miserable failure he is… You don’t really expect him to feel any of that though, right? He is seriously insane; in all likelihood, he is feeling on top of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/424 "2011-01-20T04:57:02Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Though with his years long documented insanity I doubt they’ll ask for the death penalty. > [@Sampiro](#): > > His insanity will probably save his life though personally I could vote death and sleep fine. The odds are overwhelmign that he’s going to be dangerous as long as he’s alive and that he’s never going to be remotely useful or productive and needs to be dead. My sentiments exactly. But his avoiding the death penalty may not be so bad. Let’s not forget _One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest_. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/425 "2011-01-20T05:15:32Z")
Here in AZ, if found guilty but insane, one goes to the mental hospital until such time as they are not insane any more, and then serves out the rest of their sentence in prison. And I highly doubt he will survive in prison, having killed a child. So there’s hope! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/426 "2011-01-20T06:27:06Z")
Am I mistaken, or does he not have any documented history of insanity at all? Yes, there are a bunch of classmates and acquaintances saying he acted nuts and they were afraid of him, but the last I heard there was no record of him receiving any diagnosis or treatment of mental illness. Has this changed? I’m particularly interested in an answer because I have heard even some conservatives claim that access to firearms should be more restricted to the mentally ill. And ok, sure, but would it have made any difference in this case? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/427 "2011-01-20T06:29:25Z")
I wonder when they’ll give Giffords her blackberry? She may be able to text and email before much longer. It’s worth a try. A lot depends on the brain damage. I’ve read some patients get words mixed up. They’ll say or write shoe when they mean belt. Cat when they mean horse. The result is gibberish. The patient gets frustrated because they think their words are correct. Hopefully therapy will get that fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/428 "2011-01-20T06:33:50Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > …the only people he killed were old unarmed civilians and a small child. And 30-year-old Gabe Zimmerman. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/429 "2011-01-20T06:44:17Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Am I mistaken, or does he not have any documented history of insanity at all? Yes, there are a bunch of classmates and acquaintances saying he acted nuts and they were afraid of him, but the last I heard there was no record of him receiving any diagnosis or treatment of mental illness. Has this changed? He has not been diagnosed with any mental illness or had any treatment … yet. You can point the finger for a bunch of people on that. Even if the guy is obviously mentally ill that doesn’t mean he won’t get the death penalty. He took pains to show he planned the shooting spree, probably because he didn’t expect to survive and wanted people to know he went after Giffords intentionally. That’s going to make it harder for his defense team to prove he didn’t know he was too crazy to know that killing is wrong. It’s great that Giffords has made so much progress so quickly. I hope people don’t get discouraged when things get more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/430 "2011-01-20T07:02:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He has not been diagnosed with any mental illness or had any treatment … yet. You can point the finger for a bunch of people on that. Even if the guy is obviously mentally ill that doesn’t mean he won’t get the death penalty. He took pains to show he planned the shooting spree, probably because he didn’t expect to survive and wanted people to know he went after Giffords intentionally. That’s going to make it harder for his defense team to prove he didn’t know he was too crazy to know that killing is wrong. > > It’s great that Giffords has made so much progress so quickly. I hope people don’t get discouraged when things get more difficult. I didn’t intend to bring up his undiagnosed/untreated mental illness in relation to the death penalty, but rather in relation to some from of handgun controls. I saw Tom Coburn and a couple of other prominent conservative legislators making some comments seemingly supporting the idea of legislation to prevent mentally disturbed people from purchasing handguns in light of this tragedy, and it seems to me such legislation would have made no difference at all in this case. I winder if there is any research into how many spree killers and wannabe celebrity killers had documented histories of mental illness before their crimes. I would guess many of them didn’t, whether or not the people around them knew they had problems and were possibly dangerous. That’s not to say such legislation is a bad idea. I think it’s fine, and closes a very small loophole. But it also lets lawmakers off easy. They can pat themselves on the back for their bipartisanship until the next postal clerk guns down a line of surly customers at their window. There is also more positive talk among some conservatives, including even Dick Cheney, about renewing the ban on biggie-sized ammo clips. I see that as a more substantive step. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/431 "2011-01-20T13:59:57Z")
The problem with stricter gun laws is that it’s so easy to obtain a gun outside official channels. And since when have gun laws prevented something like this? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/432 "2011-01-20T14:08:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I didn’t intend to bring up his undiagnosed/untreated mental illness in relation to the death penalty, but rather in relation to some from of handgun controls. Ah, OK. You’re correct that he would not have been prevented from buying a gun since he’d never been diagnosed or treated. And it was clear to plenty of people that something was seriously wrong with him, so that also should have happened. The way I understand it, the mandatory background checks on gun purchases are supposed to exclude people with felony convictions and known histories of mental illness. The problem is that the states don’t have to provide that information even though they’re expected to, so not all of them do it. The problem was apparently even worse before the Virginia Tech shootings. So far, none of the laws that have been proposed would have prevented Loughner’s shootings. That also includes King’s ‘keep your guns away from important people like me’ bill, not the ‘don’t use crosshairs, they’re mean’ bill. The ideas you mention sound better than that nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/433 "2011-01-20T14:11:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wonder when they’ll give Giffords her blackberry? She may be able to text and email before much longer. It’s worth a try. > > A lot depends on the brain damage. I’ve read some patients get words mixed up. In other words, she’ll be able to text just fine 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/434 "2011-01-20T14:12:22Z")
n/m, simulposted with Marley, and he answered it better than I did. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/435 "2011-01-20T23:28:49Z")
More info on Giffords transfer to Houston. She goes first to Memorial Hermann’s level one trauma center. After being evaluated, she’ll get transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann (the rehab center). [http://www.memorialhermann.org/newsroom/content.aspx?id=10188](http://www.memorialhermann.org/newsroom/content.aspx?id=10188) > [@](#): > > HOUSTON- Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is expected to begin the next phase of her recovery on Friday, January 21, at Memorial Hermann’s level one trauma center in Houston where she will be evaluated prior to being transferred to nearby TIRR Memorial Hermann. The exact date may change depending on her health. I imagine the new hospital wants to treat her extra careful. Especially with the whole country watching. They can’t afford to screw up. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/436 "2011-01-21T19:07:40Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Here in AZ, if found guilty but insane, one goes to the mental hospital until such time as they are not insane any more, and then serves out the rest of their sentence in prison. And I highly doubt he will survive in prison, having killed a child. So there’s hope! If he goes to prison, whether sentenced to life imprisonment or death row, I think it’s pretty likely that he would be in lockdown, or confined to his cell for 23 hours a day. I know that if someone wants to kill another prisoner, he will if he’s determined enough, but he won’t be mingling with the general population. Even his exercise time and shower time would be solitary. However, I realize that won’t absolutely protect him from being harmed, it will just give another prisoner a smaller window of opportunity to do so. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/437 "2011-01-21T19:41:49Z")
UMC did a great job treating all the shooting victims. Giffords was the last one still there. I bet they’ll be glad to see the press gone. That place looked like a zoo today. There were people all along the ambulance route. Anyone live there? You think all the satellite trucks will leave today or tomorrow? Now, the circus moves to Houston. I feel sorry for Memorial Hermann. It’s going to be insane for awhile. Hopefully after another week or two the press will move on to the next story. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/438 "2011-01-21T20:15:37Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > [QUOTE=Sampiro] > > …the only people he killed were old unarmed civilians and a small child. And 30-year-old Gabe Zimmerman. [/QUOTE] And a Federal Judge. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/439 "2011-01-21T20:41:45Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And a Federal Judge. Indeed, though John Roll was almost 64, so probably “old” in the sense **Sampiro** meant. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/440 "2011-01-21T23:45:26Z")
The Safeway where the shootings happened has been reopened to the public. I went there today to pick up a few groceries. I did not enter the store without pausing at the memorial that has grown in front of the store with people leaving flowers, balloons, signs, Teddy bears, crosses, and candles. I had my camera phone with me, so I took a few pictures for remembrance. [Safeway Photo 1](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo6.jpg) [Safeway Photo 2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo2.jpg) [Safeway Photo 3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo1.jpg) [Safeway Photo 4](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo4.jpg) [Safeway Photo 5](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo3.jpg) [Safeway photo 6](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/cochrane626/photo5.jpg) I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a small crowd of people also reflecting on the memorial and thinking about the victims. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about 9 year old Christina-Taylor Green and the five others whose lives were randomly taken from them by a madman. Yet, I had hope that Gabby Giffords would continue to make progress with her rehab and was thankful that the other survivors are apparently doing well, also. January 8, 2011 will long be remembered in Tucson. Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude to bring people closer together, yet it is our greatest strength during such a heinous event that we stand together in resolve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=23)