Giffords resigns from Congress

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who has been undergoing physical and speech therapy for the past year, resigned from Congress. She attended President Obama’s State of the Union address and recently joined thousands of Tucson area residents at memorial events to mark the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 8, 2011, attack in which she and 18 others were shot.

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Jan. 25, 2012

In a video image provided by House Television, Gabrielle Giffords stands with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on the floor of the House. Giffords resigned Wednesday amid tears, tributes and standing ovations, more than a year after she was wounded by a gunman in Arizona.

/ AP

Jan. 25, 2012

Gabrielle Giffords gets a hug from House Cloak Room attendant Ella Terry after resigned from the House of Representatives. Giffords resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head she received last year.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Jan. 25, 2012

Gabrielle Giffords is escorted down the hall by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) after Giffords resigned from the House of Representatives.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Jan. 24, 2012

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) greets fellow members of Congress after President Obama delivered his State of the Union address in Washington.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Jan. 24, 2012

President Obama embraces retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as members of Congress applaud before his State of the Union address in front of a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Saul Loeb / AP

Jan. 24, 2012

President Obama, left, greets Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head during a shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz., in January 2011, as members of Congress applaud prior to the president's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington.

/ Reuters

Jan. 24, 2012

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), left, talks to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) before President Obama delivered his State of the Union address.

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

Jan. 24, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Capitol Hill in Washington before President Obama's State of the Union address. From left are, Rep. Jeff Flake, Giffords, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Clinton, and Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Jan. 24, 2012

Gabrielle Giffords, center, is greeted by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) before President Obama's State of the Union address.

Saul Loeb / AP

Jan. 24, 2012

Gabrielle Giffords, flanked by Rep. Jeff Flake, left, and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington prior to President Obama's State of the Union address. Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is at right.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Jan. 24, 2012

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrives as members of Congress applaud before President Obama's State of the Union address.

Saul Loeb / AP

Jan. 22, 2012

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) announces her resignation in a video. The announcement came a little more than a year after the attack that left her severely wounded.

Office of Gabrielle Giffords / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, and her husband, Mark Kelly, wave to a crowd at the start of a memorial vigil at the University of Arizona for the victims and survivors of the shooting rampage one year ago in Tucson.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Giffords, right, is embraced by Pam Simon, one of those wounded in the shooting, during the memorial vigil.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Mark Kelly leans on wife Giffords's shoulder during the memorial vigil.

Rob Schumacher / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Giffords recites the “Pledge of Allegiance” alongside her husband Mark, right, Ron Barber, far right, and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, left, at the start of the vigil.

David Wallace / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly react after leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the memorial vigil.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

Jan. 8, 2011

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), right, and wife Cheryl, second from left, pose for a photograph with Gabrielle Giffords, center, and husband Mark Kelly during the memorial ceremony.

Matt York / AP

Jan. 7, 2012

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband, retired Navy Capt. and astronaut Mark Kelly, walk the Davidson Canyon Gabe Zimmerman Memorial Trailhead to pay tribute to Gabe Zimmerman, one of six people killed in the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting. Zimmerman was the director of community outreach for Giffords. Emily Nottingham, left, is Zimmerman's mother.

Cheryl Evans / AP

Oct. 6, 2011

Mark Kelly embraces his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, after receiving the Legion of Merit from the Vice President Joe Biden, left.

David Lienemann / The White House

Diane Sawyer chronicles Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s journey to recover from an assassination attempt, with her husband, Mark Kelly, by her side. The broadcast will also document the couple’s courtship, marriage and careers.

Ida Mae Astute / ABC

Aug. 1, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrives to the Capitol with her husband, Mark Kelly, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to vote on the debt limit bill in the House.

Tom Williams / Roll Call Photos

Aug. 1, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, center, appears on the floor of the House of Representatives.

/ The Washington Post

Giffords entered the House chambers through a side door while her colleagues were voting on a compromise measure to raise the national debt ceiling. Her arrival prompted applause on the Democratic side of the chamber, which gradually spread through the House.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

June 12, 2011

In her most recent photo since she was shot, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is seen smiling. Aides posted this photo to her official Facebook page on June 12, 2011.

P.K. Weis / AP

June 12, 2011

Giffords could be released from a rehabilitation hospital in Houston sometime in June, a top aide said, offering the latest indication that the Arizona congresswoman is making progress in recovering from a gunshot wound to the head.

P.K. Weis / AP

This picture was taken in November 2007, when Gabrielle Giffords married Mark Kelly.

Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in a 2008 Emily's List photo.

/ Reuters

Jan. 5, 2011

Giffords takes part in a reenactment of her swearing-in on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Susan Walsh / AP

Giffords reading to children. "She epitomizes representative government," says Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.). "It was eye-opening to me, how many people she knew and who knew her. She was not a stranger even in the most desolate parts of her district."

/ AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 2, 2010

Giffords gets a hug from a supporter at the Pima County Democratic election party at the Tucson Marriott. Giffords eked out a victory over Iraq war veteran Jesse Kelly (R) in a costly and contentious congressional campaign.

Kelly Presnell / AP

Giffords posing with the University of Arizona Solar Team.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Giffords speaking with constituents. She has faced strong criticism for her opposition to the state's immigration law, and she was targeted by Sarah Palin in the last election for supporting the health-care bill.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Giffords is as comfortable in a business suit walking the halls of Congress as she is on horseback, clad in riding gear. "She really pretty much defies a lot of description," one friend says.

/ Reuters

Giffords speaking with a rancher. "She's very easygoing, very even-tempered," said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.), who has worked with Giffords to place more National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexico border.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Giffords at a news conference on Capitol Hill. She has become one of the most prodigious fundraisers among House Democrats, collecting $9.4 million since she opened her first congressional campaign account five years ago.

Drew Angerer / AP

Giffords never made a habit of staying in Washington any more than she needed to, in favor of either going home to tend to constituent business or to Houston, where her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, lives.

/ Reuters

This picture was taken in November 2007, when Gabrielle Giffords married Mark Kelly.

/ Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly in 2007.

/ Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Giffords celebrates winning her congressional seat in 2006. She was the third woman in Arizona history to be elected to Congress.

David Sanders / AP

Giffords, left, with Pam Simon, who works in community outreach in the congresswoman's office.

/ AP

Giffords waves to the crowd during a rally at Reid Park in Tucson. A former Republican, in Congress Giffords has focused on national security issues, particularly the fight against terrorism.

John Miller / AP

Giffords speaking with a senior citizen. Giffords has been mentioned regularly to run for higher office, possibly taking on one of Arizona's senators, John McCain or Jon Kyl, both Republicans.

/ AFP/Getty Images

At her swearing-in, Giffords pleaded with incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) to come visit the border. "Invited him to visit the border. Hope he comes," she tweeted.

Susan Walsh / AP

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