Survivors: Help build congresswoman mass shooting memorial

PHOENIX (AP) — Survivors of the mass shooting that left former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords severely wounded are pleading with the public to help pay for a long-planned memorial after state funding fell through during this year's session of the Arizona Legislature.

The January 8th Memorial Foundation has spent the past several years raising money for a $5 million memorial in downtown Tucson that would include carved symbols along a dark red steel wall, items from makeshift memorials following the shooting and areas to reflect.

[...] former U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, a shooting victim who took over Giffords' seat before losing a re-election bid in 2014, said Monday that the issue became unjustly politicized.

Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut, founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political action committee that aims to tighten gun laws.

Survivors like Ken Dorushka, who was shot in the arm while shielding his wife, Carol, from Loughner, say the memorial is crucial for the community to remember and reflect on the tragic event.