Matt Heinz

“Moving forward I believe the best thing that we can do is to honor her strength, and conviction, and her leadership, by getting somebody, quickly, because we don’t have much time, into that seat who is going to carry forward in the tradition of moderate, bipartisan, common sense governance that she did so well for Southern Arizona," Heinz said.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) declared a special primary election to fill Giffords seat on April 17, with the general election scheduled June 12.

Heinz, 34, said that he plans to run for a full term in the fall in the new Congressional District 2, but said he would dropout of the spring special election race if Giffords’ former district director, Ron Barber, decided to run to finish Gifford's remaining current term.

“I would be very supportive of (Barber) and in fact I would even direct my staff to gather signatures for him in the special election, at which point I would divert my focus to the Aug. 30 primary," he said.

Heinz is one of four openly LGBT members of the Arizona state legislature, alongside Sens. Robert Meza (D–Phoenix), Paula Aboud (D–Tucson) and Jack Jackson (D–Window Rock).

According to Arizona media outlets, other potential candidates have indicated they’ll make a decision soon. If they decide to run, they have less than a month to gather signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Heinz said he has not committed to a decision whether or not he’ll resign his state House seat during the race for the U.S. congressional seat -- because he is in the final year of his term, Heinz is not required to resign from the state Legislature to run for the Congress.

Giffords, popularly known as "Gabby," resigned from Congress, citing her continuing efforts toward recovery from the life altering head wound she suffered during an assassination attempt and shooting spree in Tucson last year that left six others dead.

Krysten Sinema

Sinema would be the first out, bisexual member of Congress -- in previous legislative races, she has been endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization that works to elect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

"I've decided to run for Congress because we need to wake up Washington!" Sinema posted on her Facebook page, reported the Phoenix New Times.

"I will fight for the forgotten middle class and stand up to a system that is rigged against them," Sinema said.

Born to conservative Republican parents in Tucson, Sinema, 35, graduated from Brigham Young University at the age of 18, and after working for a nongovernmental organization in Kenya, she moved to Phoenix to work as a public school social worker. She went on to earn a master’s degree in social work and later a law degree, both from Arizona State University.

In 2006, Sinema chaired Arizona Together, the statewide campaign that defeated Proposition 107, which would have banned the recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arizona -- Sinema reportedly raised $2.5 million toward the effort, according to Roll Call.

In 2008, she also led the campaign against Proposition 102, a more narrow version of Proposition 107 that exclusively targeted same-sex marriage. Proposition 102 was approved by 56 percent of voters in the general election on Nov. 4, 2008, and amended the Arizona state constitution to define marriage as "only a union of one man and one woman."

On Sept. 6, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a temporary block on a controversial 2009 state law that sought to eliminate health coverage for gay and lesbian domestic partners of Arizona state employees.

Jan Brewer

The three-member appeals panel said such a law would go against the long-standing constitutional right to equal protection, but now Brewer wants the Court to have a larger panel review the issue.

Legal papers submitted on the governor's behalf contend that a three-judge panel of the same court got it wrong when it concluded that it is illegal discrimination to provide health care and other benefits to the partners of married workers while refusing to do the same for same-sex couples. Assistant Attorney General Paula Grube said the state is allowed to make such differentiation.

Grube also brushed aside as legally irrelevant that Arizona voters permanently locked gay employees out of getting around the ban after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2008 limiting marriage to one man and one woman. In fact, she charged that the ruling of three-judge panel "attempts to indirectly invalidate Arizona's marriage laws."

The Arizona Daily Star

The equal health coverage plan had been put in place in 2008 under former Gov. Janet Napolitano, now Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

But in a budget deal signed in 2009 by the current Governor, Jan Brewer, state lawmakers eliminated health coverage for the domestic partners of gay and lesbian state government employees, while retaining spousal benefits for heterosexual workers in a budget deal.

Tuesday's ruling requires the state to continue providing the coverage until there is a full trial on the merits of the question of whether the law is unconstitutional.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a temporary block on a controversial 2009 state law that sought to strip health coverage for gay and lesbian domestic partners of Arizona employees.

In a 13-page opinion, the three-member appeals panel said such a law would go against the long-standing constitutional right to equal protection.

A New York-based legal advocacy group hailed the ruling as a major victory for same sex couples.

"Today's decision ... means Arizona's lesbian and gay state employees will not suddenly find themselves without vital family health coverage," said Tara Borelli, a Lambda Legal attorney who argued the case before the court.

Reuters

The equal health coverage plan had been put in place in 2008 under former Gov. Janet Napolitano, now Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

But in a budget deal signed in 2009 by the current Governor, Jan Brewer, state lawmakers eliminated health coverage for the domestic partners of gay and lesbian state government employees, while retaining spousal benefits for heterosexual workers in a budget deal.

The lawsuit filed by Lambda legal on behalf of 10 state workers in November 2009 argued that the law discriminated against gay and lesbian couples, because under Arizona law, they’re unable to legally marry.

“The state can’t require employees to be married in order to qualify for family benefits when Arizona offers no legal unions for same-sex couples," said Borelli. The state set up "a legal impossibility" for gay couples, she said.

"It seems apparent that the court's real motivation here is for the legalization of gay marriage," said Brewer's press aide Matthew Benson. "The governor stands with the majority of Arizonans who overwhelmingly in 2008 defined marriage as between one man and one woman."

Benson said Brewer is studying the ruling and has not yet made a decision on an appeal.

Nash said a "growing number of professional athletes" are speaking out in support of marriage equality, and, “I’m proud to be one of them.” Watch:

Nash lives in Manhattan when he’s not in Phoenix playing for the Suns. In 2006, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

© Brody Levesque, for LGBTQ Nation

Caleb Laieski

Caleb Laieski, 16, of Surprise, Ariz., is in the nation's capital this month, hoping to convince legislators to support and pass the Student Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

For Caleb, seeing this bill passed is personal.

Caleb said he was repeatedly threatened with violence and death threats because he is gay -- threats that were ignored by teachers and school administrators.

And he lost a close friend who committed suicide after being gay bashed.

Caleb, who has now received his G.E.D., brought the fight to his school district last year, starting with a legal notification that he would bring a lawsuit to protect himself and others who were harassed by bullies.

After the school district agreed to change its policies, he sent a similar notice to every school district in Arizona, contacting more than 5,000 school administrators, city council members and state lawmakers, demanding improved measures to fight discrimination.

In March, Caleb attended the White House’s first ever Conference on Bullying Prevention, which inspired him to advocate at the federal level, “for those who are afraid to speak up.”

Now, Caleb is back in Washington, working the phones, knocking on doors, and becoming a familiar face on Capitol Hill as he lobbies for support for the SNDA -- the House version, HB 998, currently has 132 co-sponsors; the Senate version, SB 555, has 31 co-sponsors.

In his first week in D.C., Caleb met with Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), the bill's chief sponsor in the House, Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and more than 30 congressional staffers.

He said he plans to keep up that pace for the remaining weeks he is in Washington, hoping to persuade more legislators to co-sponsor for the bills. This week, he is scheduled to meet with Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn), the bill's sponsor in the Senate.

His goal, once Congress returns from its recess, is to move the House version of the bill from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, where it's currently assigned, to the House floor for a vote.

The Senate version is currently assigned to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Caleb said the bills are necessary in "guaranteeing all students a safe place.”

He points to statistics that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, and 3 out of 5 LGBT youth (60.8%) felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, according to GLSEN.

Caleb, who funded his trip through donations and local and internet fundraising, is on his own agenda, preferring for now to go it alone rather than follow the agenda of national, mainstream LGBT advocacy groups.

He said he realizes many in Congress are not friendly towards legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity language -- even though the bill does not require any appropriations or have any impact on the federal budget to be implemented -- but noted that his personal story connects with people, because it puts a name and face to the issue.

"People have more influence here than organizations," Caleb told LGBTQ Nation, hoping to inspire more people to get involved.

"Every student deserves the right to an education and a safe place to learn,” he said.

"I'm only 16, and I am here fighting for this -- anybody can do this."

The Arizona Republic on Sunday profiled Steven and Roger Ham, a gay couple of 18 years who are raising 12 adopted children, ages 2 to 16 -- in a state that prohibits gay couple adoptions.

The Arizona Republic

The Ham family.

In Arizona, two men can't be married, they can not adopt children together, nor can a same-sex partner to adopt a partner's children. And this year, Arizona passed legislation that gives heterosexual couples a preference over single adults when placing children in adoptive homes.

Steven called a number of Valley adoption agencies to find out whether they considered same-sex couples for placement.

“Honestly, if I needed to lie and say I was a single parent, I would have,” Steven says. But he didn’t have to. Of the half-dozen agencies he contacted, only two showed any hesitation.

That is because although the Legislature has produced bills that would have kept single people from becoming foster or adoptive parents, prohibited same-sex marriage and given preference to married couples in adoptions, those who work with children who need homes -- social workers, agencies, the courts -- do not take issue with those same conditions. They are more concerned about the thousands of children taken from homes each year, who then bounce among foster homes and group homes in alarming numbers.

Ten of the Hams' children are adopted from Arizona, two from Washington state.

Both dads' names appear on the birth certificates as parents of the two children from Washington, which allows same sex couple adoptions. But legally, the 10 children adopted in Arizona belong only to Steven.

In 2009, the Hams received an award from the Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents, signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, for not only providing a secure, loving and stable home for their children but for working so hard to keep siblings together in a system that often forces them apart.

Jan Brewer

A bill signed Monday by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will direct the state and other adoption agencies to give married couples a preference over single adults when placing children in adoptive homes.

The Phoenix New-Times reports:

The new law doesn't necessarily say homosexuals can't adopt kids -- but it states that Arizona would prefer that married couples be given higher consideration for adoptions than non-married people, if all other factors are equal.

In other words, since homosexuals aren't allowed to tie the knot in Arizona -- yet -- they would lose out to heterosexual married couples every time.

“Experienced child health and social service authorities, not politicians, should make adoption decisions," said Tom Mann, Board Chairman for Equality Arizona.

“Arizona desperately needed Governor Brewer to demonstrate real leadership today. Instead, we were given another bad law enacted out of political allegiance rather than what’s best for Arizona and Arizona’s children," he said.

In 2009, Governor Jan Brewer signed budget legislation that included a measure — referred to as Section O — to prohibit gay state employees from signing up their domestic partners for health coverage, as they had been allowed to do under former Governor Janet Napolitano.

A lawsuit filed by Lambda legal on behalf of 10 state workers in November 2009 argued that the law discriminated against gay and lesbian couples, because under Arizona law they're unable to legally marry.

That law was due to go into effect on January 1 of this year, but last July, U. S. District Court Judge John Sedwick issued a temporary junction against the benefit cuts, ruling that the law violated the U.S. Constitution's equal-protection clause by making it impossible for same-sex couples to get health coverage.

"The state can't require employees to be married in order to qualify for family benefits when Arizona offers no legal unions for same-sex couples, said Tara Borelli, an attorney with Lambda Legal.

"The state has set up a legal impossibility for gay couples," she said.

Borelli will deliver the arguments for the plaintiff's case before the appellate panel today.

On Sunday, The Arizona Republic reported that more than 600 state workers lost health-care coverage for their heterosexual partners on Jan. 1. The law also cut benefits for adult children, but federal health-care reform required the state to offer insurance to dependent children up to age 26.

Benefits to 480 same-sex partners and about 60 children would be cut off if the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifts the injunction. Arizona spends $625 million a year on employee benefits, of which roughly $5 million went to benefits for all domestic partners.

And this latter case will be heard before the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday, Feb. 14 -- Valentine’s Day.

The case -- Collins v. Brewer from Arizona -- is brought by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and pits a group of 10 gay state employees (including Tracy Collins) against a new state law barring them from signing up their domestic partners and children for family health insurance coverage.

Such family coverage is made available to straight employees who are married.

In 2009, Governor Jan Brewer signed budget legislation that included a measure -- referred to as Section O -- to prohibit gay state employees from signing up their domestic partners for health coverage, as they had been allowed to do under former Governor Janet Napolitano.

That new law was due to go into effect on January 1 of this year, but a federal district court judge last July ordered the state not to begin enforcing it.

The court then later ruled that Section O violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection by discriminating against the gay state employees based on their sexual orientation and the sex of their life partner.

The state appealed that decision to the 9th Circuit. Judges Sidney Thomas and Mark Bennett (both Clinton appointees) and Mary Schroeder (a Carter appointee) will comprise the panel hearing the appeal.

Attorneys for Arizona argue that the district court’s decision was “illogical.”

Noting that only 20 states and the District of Columbia offer health insurance coverage to state employees’ domestic partners, the state argues that it had “no obligation” to provide health insurance coverage to domestic partners but did so, in 2008, “to evaluate the policy in terms of potentially attracting and retaining employees.” When, a few months later, it decided to limit coverage to married spouses only, it did so for “all domestic partners regardless of their sexual orientation.”

What that argument leaves out, of course, is that opposite-sex domestic partners can get married in order to take advantage of the state’s health insurance coverage, while same-sex couples cannot.

Same-sex couples are barred from obtaining marriage licenses in Arizona, but under Napolitano, the state had allowed gay and lesbian state employees with a “committed same-sex partner” and/or the partner’s qualifying children with access to family health insurance coverage, the same as straight employees who were married.

In its brief to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Lambda notes that Section O reduces the compensation of gay employees compared to straight employees but does not reduce their duties at work.

“State Employees rely on family coverage as an important part of their compensation for the same reasons that their married, heterosexual colleagues do,” argued the Lambda brief, “to help care for their family members and to avoid the stress of health emergencies that easily can lead to irreversible financial harm such as bankruptcy….”

Lambda expert witness Lee Badgett estimated that 63 of the 893 domestic partners currently insured through the state’s health insurance coverage are same-sex partners. Thus, the cost of providing equal insurance coverage to gay employees would amount to an increase of less than one percent to the state’s current health insurance expense.

Daniel Hernandez

Daniel Hernandez Jr., the openly gay congressional intern who rushed to the aid of his boss, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), when a shooting rampage erupted around them in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, has been invited to attend the State of the Union address.

The White House confirmed that Hernandez, 20, will sit with First Lady Michelle Obama during Tuesday's address before a joint session of the United States Congress.

"I'm both honored and excited to have the opportunity to travel to our nation's Capitol for a once in a lifetime event," Hernandez told ABC News.

"Also the chance to bring my father along for his first trip to Washington, D.C. The State of the Union is a pivotal moment because it is our opportunity to find where we are and where we will be going as a nation in this upcoming year," he said.

Hernandez was volunteering at Giffords' “Congress On Your Corner” event on Jan. 8 when Jared Loughner opened fire in an attempt to assassinate U.S. Congresswoman.

While waiting for emergency responders, Hernandez applied pressure to the gunshot wound on Giffords' forehead, and made sure that she did not choke on her blood. His actions have been credited with saving Giffords' life.

The attack left 6 dead, including a federal judge, and 14 others injured.

Hernandez, who will turn 21 on Tuesday, will be accompanied to the State of the Union by his father, Daniel Hernandez, Sr.

Jared Loughner (booking photo)

PHOENIX -- The suspect in the attempted assassination of a U. S. Congresswoman, which left her and 14 others gravely injured and six dead, appeared in federal court in Phoenix on Monday.

Jared L. Loughner, 22, his head shaved bare and his hands and feet in restraints, was escorted into the federal courtroom, by heavily armed U. S. Marshals under tight security.

Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) -- two counts of killing an employee of the United States and two counts of intent to kill employees of the United States.

Giffords, 40, a gay rights supporter and member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, remains in critical condition after suffering a single gunshot wound to the head while appearing at a public event in Tucson, Ariz. Saturday. (Coverage of Saturday's shooting here.)

During a search of Loughner's home, authorities found an envelope with handwriting that read "I planned ahead," and "My assassination" and the name "Giffords," as well as Loughner's signature.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson, said Monday
they remain cautiously optimistic about Giffords’ recovery.

“At this time, no change is good, and we have no change,” said Dr. Michael Lemole Jr., a leading authority on skull base surgery and Chief of Neurosurgery at UMC. Lemole performed the surgery on Giffords with Dr. Martin Weinand, a professor of surgery in the neurosurgery section.

Giffords still is following simple commands, such as, “can you wiggle your toes” or “can you raise two fingers,” the hospital reported.

Additionally, CT scans show no progression of swelling in her brain. Dr. Lemole stressed that swelling can sometimes take three to five days to maximize, “but every day that goes by makes us slightly more optimistic.”

According to Dr. Peter M. Rhee, Giffords was "shot through and through on one side of the head ... [it] went through her brain." The bullet traveled through the left hemisphere of her brain without crossing the midline, where the most critical injuries result.

Daniel Hernandez Jr.

Governor Jan Brewer, in her "State of the State" address before the Arizona legislature Monday, memorialized the victims of the tragedy, and hailed the courage of Daniel Hernandez Jr., Giffords' 20 year-old openly gay intern, who rushed to the Congresswoman's aid just moments after she was shot. Hernandez' quick efforts to stabilize Giffords has been credited with saving her life.

The Governor asked Hernandez to rise in appreciation of his service, while the chamber erupted in a standing round of sustained applause.

In federal court, U. S. Magistrate Lawrence Anderson called Loughner “a danger to the community” and ordered him to be held without bail.

Six people were killed in Saturday's shooting spree, but Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik said Rep. Giffords was clearly the target. The attack is believed to be the first assassination attempt on a female politician in U.S. history.

Among the six dead are U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63, Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, an aide to Rep. Giffords, and 9 year-old Christina Greene, who was born on 9/11.

Hernandez, shown here with Giffords in a photo from his Facebook page.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A gay intern, who had been working for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) for only five days, is credited with helping to save the Congresswoman's life after she took a gunshot wound to the head while appearing at a public event on Saturday.

Daniel Hernandez Jr., a 20-year-old University of Arizona student, was volunteering at the community event and was standing about 30 feet from Giffords when Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman.

Six people in the crowd were killed, and 13 others injured, including Giffords, who remains in critical condition.

"When I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head towards the congresswoman to make sure that she was OK," Hernandez told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday morning.

"I had to lift up the congresswoman, because she was severely injured, and I wanted to make sure that she was able to breathe OK because there was so much blood," he said.

"The congresswoman was alert. She was able to hold my hand when I asked her if she could hear me," said Hernendez.

"I wasn't able to get any words from her. She may have been trying, but because of the way that I was having to hold her it was a lot easier to just 'if you can hear me Gabby just grab my hand to let me know that you're okay.'"

The fact that Hernandez was nearby and able to react quickly probably saved Giffords’ life, said state Rep. Matt Heinz (D-Tucson), a hospital physician.

Hernandez, a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, told the Dallas Voice that Giffords has "been a great ally to the LGBT community.”

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

TUCSON, Ariz. -- U. S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is in critical condition after suffering a single gunshot wound to the head while appearing at a public event in Tucson, Ariz. Saturday.

Six people were killed in the mass shooting incident, including a federal judge.

Giffords, 40, a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus and a strong supporter of gay rights, was shot at close range in the head during a "Congress On Your Corner" event outside a Safeway grocery store in northwest Tucson.

At least 13 people were injured. Among the six dead are U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63, Gabe Zimmerman, 30, an aide to Rep. Giffords, and 9 year-old Christina Greene, who was born on 9/11.

At a news conference Saturday evening, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik said Giffords was clearly the target.

Giffords is alive after undergoing emergency surgery, according to Dr. Peter Rhee, director of trauma at the University Medical Center in Tucson. She is listed in critical condition and recovering in UMC's Intensive Care Unit.

"I'm as optimistic as you can get in this situation," Rhee said, but said he will monitor her closely in the next 24 hours before determining her prognosis.

Daniel Hernandez Jr., a gay intern who had been working for Giffords for only five days, is credited with helping to save the Congresswoman’s life.

The gunman, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, has been charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the United States and two counts of intent to kill employees of the United States.

During a search of Loughner's home, authorities found an envelope with handwriting that read "I planned ahead," and "My assassination" and the name "Giffords," as well as Loughner's signature.

The Shooting:

Giffords was talking to a couple shortly after 10:00 a.m. when the Loughner ran up and fired from about four feet away.

AZ DAILY STAR

Loughner, in a 2010 photo at a Tucson book festival.

A witness, Steven Rayle, a Tucson doctor, told The Washington Post, that he saw the gunman, a young man wearing sneakers and what appeared to be navy blue sweats, approach Gifford with a semi-automatic handgun raised. The gunman said nothing before shooting the congresswoman once in the head, Rayle said.

After Giffords fell, he said, a number of people sought to flee the
scene but were trapped -- hemmed in by the table and a concrete
post. The gunman then fired into the crowd, he said.

"It was so close, and sort of a tight thing, there was nowhere easy to run," Rayle said. "So most of the crowd got it, you know."

"People that were there were just sitting ducks," Rayle said. "I don't think he was even aiming. He was just firing at whatever."

After a few seconds, Rayle said, the man stopped shooting and tried to flee.

Loughner was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody. Authorities recovered a single weapon, a pistol with what was described as an "extended magazine."

The Shooter:

Loughner told authorities at the scene he had acted alone, but Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said he was "not convinced." Dupnik said there is reason to believe that the gunman came to the location with another individual.

A former classmate described Loughner as a pot-smoking loner who had rambling beliefs about the world.

This image of Lougher's MySpace page, captured before it was removed, shows a photo of a Glock Model 17 handgun, which is capable of using large magazines.

Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured versions of a MySpace page that belonged to the suspect and over YouTube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an account "Classitup10" and linked to him.

The MySpace page, which was removed within minutes of the gunman being identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious "Goodbye friends" message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."

In one of several YouTube videos, which featured text against a dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S. currency and complained about the illiteracy rate among people living in Giffords' congressional district in Arizona.

"I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People," Loughner wrote. "Nearly all the people, who don't know this accurate information of a new currency, aren't aware of mind control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this message wouldn't have happen (sic)."

Judge John M. Roll:

Judge John M. Roll

U.S. District Judge John M. Roll was among the dead. Giffords had worked with Roll in the past to line up funding to build a new courthouse in Yuma, and President Barack Obama hailed him for his nearly 40 years of service as a judge.

Roll, a married father of three children, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 to a seat on the United States District
Court for the District of Arizona. He had served as chief judge since 2006.

Law enforcement sources said that Roll lived nearby and stopped by the Safeway to say hello to Giffords.

"The devoted husband, father of three, grandfather of five, and friend to all who knew him, will be greatly missed by his family and community," said a statement released by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. "He was a warm, compassionate judge and inspirational leader in what is one of the busiest districts in the country."

"Chief Judge John Roll was a dedicated jurist whose death is a terrible loss to Arizona and to the country," said Vice-President Joe Biden in a statement today.

Rep. Giffords:

Giffords is a native of Tucson and the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. She was first elected to represent Arizona's 8th District in 2006, and re-elected to her third term last November. The Congresswoman is married to Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly, a NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot.

Giffords' Tucson office was one of three damaged last March by vandals who targeted Democrats in advance of the U.S. House vote on President Obama's controversial health care legislation.

Following the vote, Giffords landed a place on Sarah Palin's infamous "crosshairs" map, which targeted legislators who voted for the health care bill. The map was criticized as an incitement to violence, and as of Saturday afternoon, is still posted to Palin's Facebook page.

Giffords was one of at least 10 House members who had raised concerns about their personal security following the healthcare vote.

The "Congress on Your Corner" events allow constituents to present their concerns directly to her.

Reaction:

"I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers," said President Barack Obama in a statement today at the White House. Watch here:

“We are shocked and saddened by the events involving Congresswoman Giffords and our hearts go out to her and the other victims of this awful tragedy, said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

"Gabby Giffords is a champion for LGBT equality and a principled leader for Arizona. We wish her a speedy recovery as our thoughts and prayers are with her family as well as with the families of all of those touched by today’s horrific violence," Solmonese said.

“All of Arizona is shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy that transpired this morning in Tucson," said Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

“I am just heartbroken," Brewer said in a statement. "Gabby is more than just a colleague, she is my friend."

Brewer ordered all U.S. and Arizona flags lowered to half staff until sunset. They will be lowered again on the day of Roll's interment.

House Speaker John Boehner condemned the attack.

"An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve," Boehner said in a statement. "Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society."

At a news conference today, Sheriff Dupnik, offered an emotional indictment of the state of political discourse.

“The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," Dupnik said. "And unfortunately, I think Arizona has become sort of the capital, we have beome the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry."

“There’s reason to believe that this individual might have a mental issue, and I think that people who are unbalanced might be especially susceptible to vitriol," he said.

A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction preventing the State of Arizona from enforcing a law that would have prevented lesbian and gay state employees and their domestic partners (and the children of those partners) from receiving health benefits, referring to it as illegal discrimination.

The bill, passed by the legislature last session and signed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, eliminated coverage for non-spouse domestic partners, whether they were heterosexual or gay. The lawsuit, filed by Lambda Legal, said that heterosexual couples had the option of receiving benefits simply by getting married, but gay and lesbian couples can't do so in Arizona.

United States District Judge John Sedwick agreed, citing the Arizona constitutional amendment that bars same-sex marriages, and said the state is making benefits for the partners of its employees available “on terms that are a legal impossibility for gay and lesbian couples.’’

The state argued, among other things, that the law saves Arizona money, to which Judge Sedwick addressed in his 33-page decision:

"Contrary to the State's suggestion, it is not equitable to lay the burden of the State budgetary shortfall on homosexual employees, any more than on any other distinct class, such as employees with green eyes or red hair."

He said the evidence shows that the cost of providing benefits to then partners of gay and lesbian workers is no more than 0.27 percent of total health care spending by the state. And even if cuts had to be made elsewhere, the judge said, that still doesn’t make the law right.

Arizona lawmakers included the provision to eliminate domestic partner health benefits for gay state employees as part of a last-minute budget deal signed by Brewer last September, while retaining spousal health benefits for heterosexual workers. Friday's injunction barring enforcement of the insurance cut-off will take effect in ten days.

The State can appeal the ruling immediately to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, or proceed to defend the discriminatory budget provision on the merits in the District Court.

About 800 state employees are affected. State officials have not announced whether they will appeal the ruling.