Former Senate candidate and Nevada state legislator Sharron Angle issued a statement, also posted to her Facebook page:

“My thoughts and prayers go out to all those suffering from the horrible act of violence in Arizona. I pray for the families of those lost and injured to receive all the support they need at this difficult hour.”

Sharron Angle has been criticized for her strong support of constitutional rights, especially the Second Amendment. She spoke from California where she is caring for her 88 year old father, “I condemn all acts of violence. The despicable act in Tucson is a horrifying and senseless tragedy, and should be condemned as a single act of violence, by a single unstable individual.

“Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people’s Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant. The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the TEA Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger.”

“Finger-pointing towards political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known — that the shooter was obsessed with his twisted plans long before the TEA Party movement began. I have consistently called for reasonable political dialogue on policy issues to encourage civil political education and debate. Inappropriately attributing blame of a singular tragedy to achieve a political agenda is contrary to civil discourse, and is a media ploy to which I refuse to belong.”