USA: Guns Don't Kill People: Cowards and Lobbyists Do

Like many people who have come forward to speak or write about the Tucson massacre, I know and adore Gabby Giffords. It is virtually impossible not to adore her. She has a presence and graciousness that light up a room.

Allowing someone who is clearly paranoid, delusional and incoherent -- in the midst of a psychotic episode -- to have a semi-automatic weapon in his hands is like putting a car in the hands of someone in the midst of an epileptic seizure during rush-hour traffic. Should Loughner turn out to be psychotic and brain-diseased, as appears to be the case, he will be no more genuinely culpable for the acts he has committed, regardless of what the law says, than a person who had his first seizure while driving through a crowded Tucson intersection. Less can be said for our political leaders -- a point to which we shall shortly return.

"Every law-abiding American has the right to own a gun to hunt and protect his family... But you don't need an assault weapon to hunt deer, and if you do, you shouldn't be anywhere near a gun."

For more: Guns Don't Kill People: Cowards and Lobbyists Do | News & Politics | AlterNet

USA: In Arizona shooting, Europe sees an America gripped by doubt, pessimism - by Robert Marquand

European reaction to the Gabrielle Giffords Arizona shooting is seen strongly through the lens of the tea party rhetoric and as symptomatic of a superpower in decline and at the mercy of “radical” politics.

The conservative German newspaper Die Welt stated today that: “This murderous attack came from an atmosphere of discord and self-doubt, because America is experiencing the limits of its power on a daily basis, whether it be on distant fronts or with dissatisfaction at home. It has never been like this. There always was the motto: ‘Yes, we can.’ Today, widespread pessimism prevails, because of the financial crisis, and because of Iraq and Afghanistan, lost battles ..."

For more: In Arizona shooting, Europe sees an America gripped by doubt, pessimism - CSMonitor.com

USA - Arizona shooting: 'Does she have any enemies?' 'Yeah. The whole Tea Party' - by Chris McGreal in Tucson

Paul Wellman laid his handwritten sign among the collection of candles, flowers and messages keeping vigil outside congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords's office. Then he stepped back and surveyed the scene.

To the right, another sign said: "Hate speech = murder". But Wellman went further with his angry declaration in large black letters on white cardboard: "Blame Palin. Blame the Tea Party".

The 60-something former miner did not wait to explain why. "They're trying to say that a lone nut was responsible for this, but Sarah Palin and the Tea Party might as well have put the gun in his hand. They are the ones who painted Giffords as some kind of traitor," he said.

For more: Arizona shooting: 'Does she have any enemies?' 'Yeah. The whole Tea Party' | World news | The Guardian