Giffords blasts Trump’s Second Amendment comments

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords on Tuesday blasted Donald Trump over his apparent joke about the possibility of Hillary Clinton being shot.

{mosads}The former Arizona Democrat issued a statement with her husband, Mark Kelly, saying the GOP nominee’s remarks could incite violence.

“Donald Trump might astound Americans on a routine basis, but we must draw a bright red line between political speech and suggestions of violence,” the statement reads. “Responsible, stable individuals won’t take Trump’s rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy. They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed.”

Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 while meeting with constituents in Tucson, Ariz. The man who shot her and killed six people at the meeting had a long history of mental illness.

“What political leaders say matters to their followers,” the statement continues. “When candidates descend into coarseness and insult, our politics follow suit. When they affirm violence, we should fear that violence will follow.”

During a rally on Tuesday, Trump was discussing the possibility that Clinton would nominate judges who would infringe on gun rights when he appeared to make a joke about “Second Amendment people” killing her.

“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment,” Trump said to boos from the crowd.

“By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,” he then added.

“Though the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”

Kelly and Giffords called on Trump and his supporters to disavow the remarks.

“It must be the responsibility of all Americans — from Donald Trump himself, to his supporters, to those who remain silent or oppose him — to unambiguously condemn these remarks and the violence they insinuate,” they said in the statement. 

“The integrity of our democracy and the decency of our nation is at stake.”