Emotions high as Gabrielle Giffords recites pledge of allegiance

By RICHARD LUSCOMBE
Published on 08/09/2012 00:00

Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat politician left brain damaged when she was shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona, by a gunman last year, won a standing ovation when she led convention delegates in the recital of the pledge of allegiance.

Mrs Giffords, who resigned as congresswoman for Arizona earlier this year to concentrate on her recovery from the January 2011 attack that left six people dead, spoke clearly and in a strong voice. She was supported by friend Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, but was able to hold her weakened right arm over her heart with her left hand as she spoke.

“She hasn’t been around this kind of atmosphere for a long time,” her husband, former Nasa astronaut Mark Kelly said. “A lot of her friends are here. She was really excited to do it.”

Gunman Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder this month and will be sentenced in November.