An Emotional Goodbye for Giffords

It was an emotional goodbye for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on Wednesday as she formally submitted her resignation.

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz broke down as she read Giffords' resignation letter aloud on the House floor. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wiped tears from his eyes as Giffords handed it to him.

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Giffords announced in a YouTube video on Sunday that she would resign this week so she could focus on her recovery after Jared Lee Loughner allegedly shot her and 19 others outside a Tucson supermarket on Jan. 8, 2011. The massacre left six people dead.

Video: DNC Chair Speaks at Fundraiser for LGBT Immigrants

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke at an Immigration Equality fundraiser in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, discussed the prospects of the Uniting American Families Act and the White House's LGBT-specific accomplishments since President Barack Obama took office. She also cited Anthony Makk and Bradford Wells, a bi-national gay couple from San Francisco who faces separation because Makk faces deportation back to his native Australia, in her speech.



Following her speech, Wasserman Schultz conceded that she is not confident that UAFA would become law before the end of this Congress. She also blasted Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for asserting that homosexuality is a choice during his appearance on "The View" earlier in the day.

DNC Chair Blasts Cain for Asserting Homosexuality Is A Choice

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Tuesday, Oct. 4, blasted Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for asserting during an appearance on "The View" earlier in the day that homosexuality is a choice

"It’s shockingly out of touch and insensitive for him to suggest—outdated, ancient—and sends a terrible message to gay kids, to gay Americans that somehow they should be treated differently and that we don’t recognize that sexuality is simply a matter of the way you were born," said the Florida congresswoman after she spoke at an Immigration Equality fundraiser in Washington, D.C.

Wasserman Schultz conceded that she had not heard that Cain had made the assertion until this reporter asked her to comment on it.

"I totally disagree with Herman Cain," she said. "Homosexuality is not a choice, it is something that occurs through birth. It’s hereditary."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Attend Fundraiser for LGBT Immigrants’ Rights Organization

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is among those who are expected to attend a fundraiser for an LGBT immigrants’ rights organization in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Schultz is among the 123 co-sponsors of the Uniting American Families Act, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow American citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration purposes. New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced UAFA in April.