Andrew Dubois

Staff Writer

    On Sunday, January 22, Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords announced that she is withdrawing from Congress to focus on her recovery. This news came nearly a year after she was shot in the head during a rampage by Jared Lee Loughner that left six people dead.

    One of the last things she did before she resigned was a final “Congress on your Corner,” during which she met with some of the people who had aided the injured and restrained her attacker at the “Congress on your Corner” event on January 8, 2011.

    In the official video statement on her website, Giffords said that a lot has happened over the past year and that she can’t change that. She also stated, “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 giving me time to recover.”

    She turned in her letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer late this month. Brewer told reporters that she will call a primary election sometime in April for the people of the 8th congressional district to pick their candidate for the seat. Regarding Giffords’s recovery, Brewer stated, "It has been nothing less than a miracle. Who knows what's going to happen in the next two years. I don't believe we've seen the last of Gabby Giffords."

    President Obama complimented Giffords’s service by stating that she "embodies the very best of what public service should be" and that her “cheerful presence will be missed in Washington.”  On January 24, Giffords sat in a front row seat for the President’s State of the Union address while her husband, Mark Kelly, sat in the First Lady’s box with Michelle Obama.