--- title: Gabby Giffords Tells Congress to Stop Skipping Town Halls description: Former Rep. Gabby Giffords told members of Congress to "have some courage" and hold town hall meetings in spite of angry demonstrations. canonical: https://time.com/4681271/gabby-giffords-town-halls/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T22:09:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:53.078Z article:section: Politics og:title: Gabby Giffords Tells Lawmakers to Stop Skipping Town Halls og:description: "Have some courage." og:url: https://time.com/4681271/gabby-giffords-town-halls/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1dcead99d226713a/6988bbabcf40a82990c4695d/gettyimages-615186410.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Gun violence victim and former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords speaks next to her husband, NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, as they visits City Hall on her 2016 Vocal Majority Tour on October 17, 2016 in New York City. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gabby Giffords Tells Lawmakers to Stop Skipping Town Halls twitter:description: "Have some courage." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1dcead99d226713a/6988bbabcf40a82990c4695d/gettyimages-615186410.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Have Some Courage': Gabby Giffords Tells Lawmakers to Stop Skipping Town Halls > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords told members of Congress to "have some courage" and hold town hall meetings in spite of angry demonstrations._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 10:09 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 23, 2017 10:09 PM UTC Former Rep. Gabby Giffords told members of Congress to “have some courage” and hold town hall meetings in spite of angry demonstrations. Giffords, who was shot during a public event in 2011, [released a statement](http://americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/2017/02/23/townhall/) criticizing lawmakers who are skipping town hall meetings this recess on the website for Americans for Responsible Solutions, the pro-gun control group she runs with her husband. “To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this: Have some courage,” she said. “Face your constituents. Hold town halls.” A number of Republican members of Congress have [avoided holding town halls](http://time.com/4675256/donald-trump-congress-town-hall-protests/) or scheduled more tightly controlled “telephone town halls” after [seeing protests erupt](http://time.com/4678389/republican-congress-donald-trump-town-hall-protests/) over Trump Administration policies. Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert even cited the Giffords shooting as a reason not to hold a town hall. “The House Sergeant at Arms advised us after former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot at a public appearance, that civilian attendees at congressional public events stand the most chance of being harmed or killed — just as happened there,” he [wrote in a letter to constituents](http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/louie-gohmert-gabby-giffords/) Tuesday. Giffords responded by noting that her office was open to the public two days after the shooting. Read Giffords complete response below. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4681271/gabby-giffords-town-halls/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4681271/gabby-giffords-town-halls/"},"headline":"'Have Some Courage': Gabby Giffords Tells Lawmakers to Stop Skipping Town Halls","datePublished":"2017-02-23T22:09:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:53.078Z","description":"Former Rep. 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