After telling shooting victim Gabby Giffords to stay out of Newton via her Facebook page following the ex-congresswoman’s private visit to Newtown, State Rep. DebraLee Hovey, who represents Newton and Monroe, issued a statement of apology Monday afternoon. Hovey had also posted on her Facebook page she was miffed for not receiving an invite to meet Giffords. In her apology she reinvents what she was trying to convey. Statement follows:
“The remarks I made regarding Congresswoman Gifford’s visit were insensitive and if I offended anyone I truly apologize. My comments were meant to be protective of the privacy of the families and our community as we work to move on, and were in no way intended as an insult to Congresswoman Giffords personally.
“Our community has struggled greatly through this tragedy, and we are all very sensitive to the potential for this event to be exploited for political purposes. This is what I wish to avoid.”
Newtown State Rep. DebraLee Hovey’s apology is better late than never.
Better late than never? She tried to qualify her actions by claiming she was “protecting” the people of Newtown. The following is from an editorial in the Hartford Courant:
“As for the visit being a political stunt, the press was not allowed in, and there was no statement afterward. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, both Democrats, accompanied Ms. Giffords to the closed meetings, appropriately, and so did Newtown First Selectman E. Patricia Llodra, a Republican.”
DebraLee Hovey can go punt.
Sounds more like an I am so sorry I got caught …
What a miserable woman! She apologized because she was called out on her comment. She apologizes “if she offended anyone?” It seems to me she offended everyone! What an embarrassment she is to the people of Newtown.
Stupid comments by Hovey, but Giffords’ handlers are playing the political card by having her show up to garner sympathy for the extremists who want the NRA to go away and legally licensed persons to give up their Second Amendment rights.
Bob, I give you credit for your talking points from the NRA, I hope you are getting paid for it.
Ron, thanks for the undeserved credit. I am not a member of the NRA, but I do have a carry permit and a licensed weapon. I never anticipate its use, but I’d rather have it than be threatened by someone with the intent to do me harm with an illegal weapon.
Excuse me? You’re on drugs. If not go see your primary care physician–he’ll prescribe the appropriate medication to make the voice in your head stop whispering paranoid delusions in your ear.
*** So who’s insensitive here, Hovey for seeing the visit for political and personal reasons towards better gun control, or Giffords? Seems you can’t get one without the other, no? *** Newtown’s Been Through Enough, Time To Let Them Be To Heal ***
Since when is DebraLee in charge of deciding who may travel to Newtown and or what they may say? Hovey should resign!
“My comments were meant to be protective of the privacy of the families and our community as we work to move on, and were in no way intended as an insult to Congresswoman Giffords personally.”
Are you kidding me? Get out of here, Ms. Hovey. You fucked up, badly. Your “apology” should’ve been unqualified. And you were not motivated by altruism. Your ego was bruised because you were not invited to meet the former congresswoman. Stay in Florida. The district will hold a special election and someone competent will be elected to represent the people of Monroe and Newtown.
DebraLee Hovey: immature, insensitive and ignorant.
Gabrielle Giffords: compassionate, witness and victim to the horrors of mass murders, willing to help others who are suffering indescribable loss, and courageous beyond words.