I watched the State of the Union address last night.
One of the most touching moments was the arrival of Representative Gabby Giffords and the standing ovation she received.  Then there was the President, surrounded by those who wanted to shake his hand or whisper something to him, stopping to speak with her and to give her a hug.  Tears easily come to my eyes and tears were in my eyes last night as the camera zoomed in on Representative Giffords’ face at that moment.  

It is just a little over a year since she was shot, and we were uncertain whether or not she would even survive.
Today, Gabby Giffords resigned here seat in Congress.
The reason she gave was so she can concentrate on her continued recovery.
But, I also wonder if, at least, a part of the reason for her resignation came from her sense of duty and her commitment to her constituents knowing that she could not represent them in the way she would like and which they deserved.   
I am sure that today on the floor of Congress there speeches made and best wishes conveyed, but here is what I wish would have happened.  I wish that Congress, as a part of their good-bye to Gabby Giffords, had said to her something like this:  
“Gabby, never again.
To the best of our ability, we will do what we can to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those who do not know how to use them and out of the hands of those who have not been trained to use them properly and out of the hands of those whose mental ability or mental state would make it unwise to entrust them with a gun.
Gabby, we almost lost you.
And, we have lost your insight and passion and intellect in this chamber.
We cannot afford to lose another.”

I wish they had said something like that today.
But, even without listening to the news, I know that they didn’t.
And, that brings tears to my eyes once again.