The Tucson shooting, one year later: memorials, dedications, and celebrations

It's been almost a year since the mass shooting in Tucson, when Jared Loughner shattered the peace of a quiet Saturday by taking a pistol with an extended ammo clip and shooting as many people as he was able to before he was tackled by bystanders while he reloaded.

When the smoke cleared, six of his victims lay dead or dying while 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded.

As the anniversary approaches, different folks and organization are commemorating the anniversary in different ways.

...Tonight (Wednesday, January 4) at 7, Channel 12 (Phoenix) will be airing a program that includes retired Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor and a group of students discussing ways that the next generation can bring civility to public discourse.  Inspired by and in honor of Christina Taylor Green, the youngest victim of the Tucson shooting.

...Earlier today, a trailhead east of Tucson was dedicated in honor of Gabe Zimmerman, one of the fatalities in Tucson and a staffer for Congresswoman Giffords.  On a related note, on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. there will be hikes up South Mountain in Phoenix in honor of Zimmerman, a noted hiker.  The event in Phoenix will also be a food drive for St. Mary's Food Bank.

...Saturday, there will be a candlelight vigil at the state capitol on West Washington in Phoenix, starting at 7 p.m.

...Sunday at 1 p.m., there will be an interfaith memorial service at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., Tucson.  The service will include Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i and Sikh prayers and rituals.

...Sunday at 3 p.m. at University of Arizona's Centennial Hall, The Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding will sponsor REFLECTIONS: Honoring the Lives of the January 8 Shooting Victims.  A series of speakers, mostly colleagues or friends of the victims, will speak about the lives of the victims and survivors.

...Sunday at 6:30 p.m., there will be a vigil on the University of Arizona Mall.  Hosted by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and The University of Arizona Medical Center, the vigil will feature a number of speakers, including Ron Barber, a survivor of the shooting, Jonathan Rothschild, mayor of Tucson, and Mark Kelly, husband of Gabrielle Giffords.

...and last, and certainly least appropriate, the gun-toters crowd is celebrating ignoring (Really!  The date is just a coincidence!  Just ask the organizers!) the deaths and shattered lives by holding a gun show on the anniversary.

From KVOA -

With the anniversary of the January 8th tragedy less than a week away, we've learned a gun show is coming to Tucson that very day.

"I don't understand why they would do it that day. Not the day that Gabrielle Giffords was shot," said Casandra Ridlinghafer.

Wonder if they will have a special on Glocks with extended clips at the show?

The website Remembering January 8th has a more complete list of events here.  Reports are that Congresswoman Giffords will attend some events, but her schedule has not been announced.