Giffords says Loughner should never have had gun access

[March 28, 2013]  TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords says the release of police reports in the Tucson rampage that seriously wounded her shows that the "mentally disturbed" shooter should have never have had access to a gun.

Giffords says not a day goes by without her thinking of the meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson supermarket and all those affected by the shooting in January 2011 that left six dead.

Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced last November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after he pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges.

In a statement released Wednesday by the gun control advocacy group she started with her husband, Giffords says "no one piece of legislation will end all gun violence." But she hopes "commonsense policies like universal background checks" are enacted.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.