Courage? You Want To See Courage?

My elder daughter works in a rehab hospital and primarily with head trauma patients.  She knows, clinically, what Gabby Giffords has been going through these past three years.  It isn't pretty.  It takes a tremendous amount of courage to keep working, to keep fighting, with the rewards are sometimes so terribly small.  It's too bad for our country that those we have elected to Congress don't have an ounce of the courage Gabby has.  Here is her statement today, the 3rd anniversary of the mass shooting in Tucson.

Three years ago today, a gunman walked up to one of my Congress on Your Corner events, shot me in the head, killed six of my constituents, and wounded twelve others.

I've spent the last three years learning how to talk again, how to walk again, and how to sign my name with my left hand. It's gritty, painful and frustrating work, every day. It's never easy because once you've mastered some movement or action, you move on to the next. There is no rest. Read more about head trauma caused by gunshot.

Along the way, I’ve learned that our campaign to change our gun laws has a lot in common with my difficult rehab.

Every day, we must wake up resolved and determined. We pay attention to the details, looking for opportunities for progress, even when the pace is slow. And every day we recruit a few more allies, talk to a few more people, and convince a few more voters. Some days it comes easy, and we feel the wind at our backs. Other times, we tire of the burden.  See Americans for Responsible Solutions

I know this feeling … but I know that we’ll persist.

The road is long and difficult, but I need to know that I can continue to count on you in this fight. Let me know at the link below that you're in for 2014, and tell me why changing our gun laws is important to you.

Since the shooting, eight days into the new year is when I mark my own new beginnings and make my annual resolutions.

One year ago today, Mark (husband, Mark Kelly) and I started Americans for Responsible Solutions and made it our mission to reduce gun violence in a way that was consistent with being gun owners ourselves.

This year, I resolve to draw strength from the Americans who have joined our fight, and cede no ground to those who would convince us the path is too steep, or we too weak.

Over the last few months, I have achieved something big that I’ve not spoken about until now. Countless hours of physical therapy - and the talents of the medical community - have brought me new movement in my right arm. It’s fractional progress, and it took a long time, but my arm moves when I tell it.

And maybe that’s what it will take to change our gun laws — determination, teamwork, and incremental progress.

But I know we’ll get there, and I am thankful we’re in it together.

Gabby Giffords