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alp227

(31,962 posts)
Sat May 25, 2013, 10:52 PM May 2013

Giffords Urges Graduates at Bard to ‘Be Courageous’

Source: New York Times

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — Speaking uncertainly but smiling broadly, Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who became a public face of the gun control movement after she was shot in 2011, delivered a kind of blessing in her commencement address to Bard College graduates here on Saturday afternoon, urging them to “be bold, be courageous, be your best.”

Ms. Giffords spoke for no more than two minutes at the commencement ceremony, where she also received an honorary degree, but earned several standing ovations.

She did not address her gun control advocacy, which encountered a setback last month when the Senate blocked background check legislation. Instead, she left it to her husband, the astronaut Mark E. Kelly, to describe their joint efforts to curb gun violence and the shooting in which six people were killed and 13 others were wounded, including Ms. Giffords, by a gunman in Tucson.

Mr. Kelly, who has emerged as an ardent spokesman for his wife, told the audience of Ms. Giffords’s continuing recovery from a head wound, which left her struggling to perform basic tasks, including speaking. He said the gun control issue had moved her to re-enter public life despite her physical limitations.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/us/politics/giffords-urges-bard-graduates-to-be-courageous.html

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Giffords Urges Graduates at Bard to ‘Be Courageous’ (Original Post) alp227 May 2013 OP
Wow davidpdx May 2013 #1
There are lives to be saved. I'm sure it encourages them both. freshwest May 2013 #3
Wow! Glorious Gabby Giffords! longship May 2013 #2
She is on message. jonthebru May 2013 #4
Love Bard College. Love Gabby. A great combo. SleeplessinSoCal May 2013 #5
She was a friend way before she was shot DFW May 2013 #6

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
1. Wow
Sat May 25, 2013, 11:19 PM
May 2013

I know it's still so hard for her to speak given her injuries. Getting up there and speaking for 2 minutes must have been difficult. She is a courageous woman.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
3. There are lives to be saved. I'm sure it encourages them both.
Sat May 25, 2013, 11:31 PM
May 2013

She's looking at the big picture and not what some might call her shortcomings in speaking. She is a good leader, too bad Arizona lost her guidance.

jonthebru

(1,034 posts)
4. She is on message.
Sun May 26, 2013, 01:20 AM
May 2013

We did not get better firearm control because people were not courageous enough. She is correct is asking us to be courageous.

I haven't graduated from anywhere for a very, very long time but I really do enjoy graduation speeches.

DFW

(54,057 posts)
6. She was a friend way before she was shot
Sun May 26, 2013, 05:13 AM
May 2013

If you knew what she was like before, you can better understand her determination. To even get elected as a Democrat in her district was a feat to begin with. The Republicans threw everything at her they had to defeat her and take back the seat. They didn't know who they were messing with. She is bright, charming ("I don't do handshakes. I do hugs&quot , and focused. Just because she can no longer articulate everything like she used to, that doesn't mean she has lost the inner core of who she is.

When I last saw her a few months ago, she tired easily and had great difficulty speaking, but she was strong in spirit, and content to let Mark speak for her. That was the funny part, as he was content to play the strong silent husband before the shooting. But they were always on the same wavelength, which makes them such an effective couple.

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