Wounded lawmaker Giffords to quit US Congress

WASHINGTON—Gabrielle Giffords, the US lawmaker who survived a point-blank shooting a year ago, announced Sunday that she will quit Congress in the coming week.

Gabrielle Giffords.AP FILE PHOTO

In a YouTube video to supporters, Giffords said: “I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week.”

Giffords was left fighting for her life after a gunman shot her through the front of the head in an apparent assassination attempt, before spraying the crowd with bullets at her meeting with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket.

Among the six dead in the January 8, 2011 rampage were a federal judge, a nine-year-old girl and a member of the congresswoman’s staff.

Giffords, whose speech remains halting and slurred, said in the video: “I don’t remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers, and for giving me time to recover.

“I’m getting better everyday. My spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.

In March, the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Experts found the 23-year-old to be schizophrenic and unable to help in his own defense or understand court proceedings.

Soul-searching in the aftermath of the tragedy focused on the toxic political climate in the United States and whether it in some way inspired the misfit gunman.

Giffords made a dramatic and emotional return to the House of Representatives last August to vote on a controversial debt compromise, drawing a standing ovation from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

In her two-minute video, Giffords says:”A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better.”