# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/101 "2011-01-08T21:00:32Z")
According to MSNBC, one of the dead was a federal judge. Fortunately, the federal justice system doesn’t screw around. Lochner’s looking at the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/102 "2011-01-08T21:02:19Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > “Hey, all I did is yell Fire in the theater! I don’t know why everyone stampeded for the exits, maybe there was a bee or something. Who knows if they even heard me! Geez.” > > Actions have consequences, asshole. Now this _is_ something to be addressed individually. As you are undoubtedly aware, it’s not permitted to call another poster an asshole in this forum. Don’t do this again. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/103 "2011-01-08T21:02:23Z")
Apparently he’s a war vet. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/104 "2011-01-08T21:02:38Z")
The person who died at the hospital was a young child- eta: about 9. The bullet passed through Giffords’ brain. The doctor says he’s as optimistic as he can be with this wound. Nothing is coming up when searching for Jared Laughner on public records databases, myspace, .edu or .mil, etc… Perhaps it’s spelled differently or his name is something like “Charles J. Laughner” and he goes by his middle name. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/105 "2011-01-08T21:04:09Z")
from the press conference, of the people brought to the hospital. 5 are critical, 5 in surgery, and very unfortunatly 1 very young child died. rep giffords is out of surgery and they are optimistic for recovery. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/106 "2011-01-08T21:04:16Z")
Hospital news conference is ongoing - they are ‘hopeful’ for recovery. She was shot in the head ‘through and through’, but was responding to directions. A nine year old child shot at the scene has died. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/107 "2011-01-08T21:05:02Z")
The judge had a bunch of threats because of a lawsuit where illegals could sue a Arizona rancher. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/108 "2011-01-08T21:06:48Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Now this _is_ something to be addressed individually. As you are undoubtedly aware, it’s not permitted to call another poster an asshole in this forum. > > Don’t do this again. I apologize. I had both this and the pit thread open next to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/109 "2011-01-08T21:07:08Z")
The dead judge is John Roll, who received death threats after he ruled that a case filed by illegal immigrants against a rancher could go ahead. TPM has the [details](http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/tpm_confirms_federal_judge_shot_at_incident_in_ari.php?ref=fpa). ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/110 "2011-01-08T21:08:11Z")
U.S. District Judge John Roll may have been killed as well. It’s possible that he was targeted, he received several death threats last year. > [@](#): > > Judge Roll in 2009, faced death threats after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher. After Judge Roll ruled the case would be certified, threats came from talk-radio shows which fueled controversy and spurred audiences into making threats against the judge[2]. > > The threats materialized after one show, Judge Roll’s name logged more than 200 phone calls as some callers threatened the judge and his family[2]. > > This resulted in the judge and his wife were under a protection detail for one month as Judge Roll was given twenty four hours a day, seven days a week security by the US Marshals Service. An US Attorney’s investigation ruled that four men were identified as threat makers, but no charges were filed[2]. > > In a July 9, 2009 interview with the Arizona Republic, Judge Roll described the time under high security as “unnerving and invasive. . . . By its nature it has to be,” Roll said. Roll also said, “It (the security) was handled very professionally by the Marshals Service.”[2] > > At the end of the month, Roll said four key men had been identified as threat makers[2]. [John Roll](http://judgepedia.org/index.php/John_Roll) ETA: Or, what Lantern and Bijou Drains said. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/111 "2011-01-08T21:09:32Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I have data. The victim is a Democrat. She’s been targeted by right wing violence before, and liberals don’t do shit like this. Lee Harvey Oswald, Mark Chapman, Jim Jones, Sirhan Sirhan, Arthur Bremer and John Hinkley were all conservative, were they? Actually they all had exactly one thing in common: they were all crazy as shithouse rats. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/112 "2011-01-08T21:12:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Lee Harvey Oswald, Mark Chapman, Jim Jones and John Hinkley were all conservative, were they? And the Weathermen all voted for Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/113 "2011-01-08T21:12:13Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Lee Harvey Oswald was conservative? Lee Harvey Oswald is not a suspect in this case. And his shootings happened half a century ago. And no one is saying that liberals are incapable of murder. They are saying that in this case it is extremely unlikely that the shooter is a leftie. You are building a strawman. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/114 "2011-01-08T21:12:43Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Lee Harvey Oswald was conservative? No, but the gunman on the grassy knoll was.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/115 "2011-01-08T21:12:58Z")
People are saying this is Jared: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoaZaLbqB4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoaZaLbqB4) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/116 "2011-01-08T21:13:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And no one is saying that liberals are incapable of murder. They are saying that in this case it is extremely unlikely that the shooter is a leftie. You are building a strawman. Actually that’s pretty much exactly what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/117 "2011-01-08T21:13:48Z")
Wikipedia already has a [page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tucson_shooting)on the shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/118 "2011-01-08T21:14:58Z")
> [@kjckjc](#): > > People are saying this is Jared: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoaZaLbqB4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoaZaLbqB4) That must be the right spelling because now shots of his myspace and other records are popping up. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/119 "2011-01-08T21:15:58Z")
pres. obama is due to speak soon. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904/120 "2011-01-08T21:16:13Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Wikipedia already has a [page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tucson_shooting)on the shooting. For those who don’t have YouTube capability or choose not to, it’s a nutjob site posted on 12/15/2010 that goes into stuff about treason and property rights. It’s all text. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904.md?page=7)