Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down from Congress

This is such a huge loss for Arizona:



There are so many emotions I am feeling right now: sadness, loss, anger, and fear - just to name a few. I don't think I need to explain all of these feelings, in particular, the sadness and loss, but the anger and fear? Well there are so many reasons to be both angry and fearful and one does not need to look too far back in Arizona's past to understand why anger and especially fear are legitimate emotions to be feeling right about now. Here are just two reasons from Arizona's very recent history that should scare any sane person, but rest-assured Arizona has a very long and colorful love affair with guns and the nuts who've lost any hint of sanity or common sense when writing laws regulating them:

• Arizona's well-earned and very deserved reputation for having a very right-wing, gun-luvin, NRA-beholden legislature, which has only gotten crazier and more prolific with their legislation of guns-for-everybody-anywhere-anytime laws since the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. Examples here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And those are only the tip of the iceberg. 
• And secondly, I worry about the huge hole Gabby's resignation leaves on the list of sane Arizona congressional representatives. I simply cannot forget the nutcase teabagger who ran against Gabrielle Giffords in the 2010 elections. His name is Jesse Kelly and his campaign was enough to send the fear of God through me.  In this case, just 2 pictures are worth a thousand blog posts on this idiot: