Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Announces Retirement A Year After Surviving Near-Fatal Gunshot Wound To Head

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords [D: AZ-8] announced over the weekend that she would be stepping down to focus on her recovery a little over a year after she was shot in the head by a schizophrenic loner who opened fire at a 'Congress in Your Corner' event her office was hosting.

On January 8, 2011, 22 year old Jared Lee Lougner opened fire with a 9mm pistol on the Congresswoman and attendees as the meeting was being held outdoors in a Tucson, AZ shopping plaza. Besides the near-fatal injury to the Congresswoman, 6 people were killed- including a 9 year old girl, a federal judge and one of Gifford's staffers- before spectators wrestled Loughner to the ground and disarmed him.

Loughner remains in custody, although it appears a trial is increasingly unlikely for him anytime soon as he's being forcibly medicated in an attempt to make him psychologically fit to stand trial. In the hours immediately after the shootings, Loughner's rampage was blamed on public figures like Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and conservative talk radio hosts although it was determined that Loughner was a schizophrenic loner who had a disturbing fixation with the Congresswoman for years.

After being treated by a specialist in Houston and months of therapy, Congresswoman Giffords returned to Congress in late July in time to vote on the debt ceiling increase.

On Sunday, Giffords office released a video informing her constituents that she was going to resign effective this week [See above].

On Monday, Giffords' office hosted one final 'Congress in your corner' event before drafting a letter of resignation that she will turn in to Arizona governor Jan Brewer and Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boeher [R: OH-8].

Gov. Brewer has called for a special election to take place in April for a replacement for Giffords who will serve out the remainder of her term. Like many other states, Arizona is in the midst of redistricting and after the 2010 Census will add another Congressional district. During the 2010 midterms, Giffords narrowly held off Tea Party-backed GOP challenger Jesse Kelly.

Giffords herself reportedly has not ruled out running for office again at some point in the future, but she has determined her recovery is her main priority.

Personally, I'm amazed at the pace of Giffords' recovery so far as well as her determination to return after undergoing therapy. I wish Giffords and her husband the best of luck in their future endeavors up to and including another run for public office.