Saturday”s shooting at a Tucson-area Safeway injured 14 people and killed another six, including a sitting federal judge from Arizona, John Roll, and the granddaughter of former World Series champion manager and former Major League Baseball player Dallas Green.
But clearly what has captured the nation”s attention is that alleged assailant, Jared Lee Loughner (a 22-year-old unemployed college dropout who hasn”t revealed his motives to authorities), shot and seriously injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Tucson.
Reports do indicate that Giffords has a good chance of recovering to some extent, despite being shot in the head.
Still, as a fan of American political history and a trivia-buff, the incident compelled me to investigate just how often sitting U.S. Congress members are assassination victims.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report in March 2002 written by American government specialist Mildred Amer, which stated that, as of that date, 60 members of Congress died of non-natural causes while in office – that number holds true today because no sitting members have died of such causes in the interim.
According to the information in the CRS report, the majority of the 60 sitting Congress members died between 1900 and 1959. Eighteen senators and representatives died between 1960 and 1998 (Singer and U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono, D-Palm Springs, was the last to die following his skiing accident in 1998).
The majority of people died because of injuries sustained in vehicle accidents or crashes (train, boat, automobile and airplane). Seven sitting members died accidental deaths; another 10 committed suicide while in office.
Five representatives also survived a high-profile assassination attempt in 1954 after being shot by Puerto Rican nationalists who opened fire on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives from the ladies” viewing gallery.
Surprisingly (and thankfully), only eight sitting members of Congress have died at the hands of another person – a particularly remarkable ratio considering that four of 44 sitting U.S. presidents have been assassinated.
Three members died in duels. U.S. Sen. Edward D. Baker, R-Ore., died fighting in the Civil War. U.S. Rep. Cornelius Hamilton, R-Ohio, was killed by his insane son in 1867. And U.S. Rep. John Pinckney, D-Texas, was assaulted and killed in his home state in 1905.
Georgia Representative Larry McDonald rode aboard a Korean Air Lines airplane in September 1983 that flew into Soviet airspace and was shot down by a Soviet fighter plane (bodies were never recovered).
Members of the Peoples Temple cult in Guyana (a former British colony in the northern part of South America) killed U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan, D-San Mateo, and several journalists on a Guyanese airstrip as Ryan and his group attempted to cut short a humanitarian trip in 1978.
That leaves three sitting members who were assassinated on American soil. U.S. Rep. James M. Hinds, D-Ark., was killed in 1868. U.S. Sen. Huey Long, D-La., was shot at the Louisiana State Capitol Building in 1935, dying two days later.
And believe it or not, the last sitting congressman to be assassinated in the U.S. was New York Senator Robert Kennedy, who Sirhan Sirhan infamously shot on June 5, 1968 after an RFK presidential campaign event at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
RFK”s assassination marked the end of a particularly bloody time period in American history and really sent shock waves across the nation.
Earlier that year, a gunman killed Martin Luther King, Jr. at a Memphis motel, an American hero whose life and legacy we celebrate every year on the third Monday in January.
While remembering King this coming Monday, take a moment to reflect on all American politicians who lost their lives because of assassination. Think about the injured Gabrielle Giffords and the six men, women and children who needlessly died Saturday at the hands of a likely unstable, confused and angry young man.
Understand that ideological differences or political disagreements must be expressed civilly and humanely. Honor the memories of these assassination victims by engaging in discourse, not violently or ignorantly or hatefully, but with respect, care and compassion.
By doing so, we may begin to live another part of King”s Dream, “to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
