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Giffords’ husband willing to meet with family of alleged gunman

Laura Donovan Contributor
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Mark Kelly would consider meeting the family of Jared Loughner, the man accused of opening fire in Tucson last week and shooting Kelly’s wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

In his first televised interview since the shooting, Kelly told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that he doesn’t think Loughner’s parents are at fault for their son’s decision to carry out a mass shooting.

“I’d probably see them. You know, I don’t think it’s their fault. It’s not the parents fault,” Kelly said in portions of the interview that ABC released Monday. “You know, I’d like to think I’m a person that’s, you know, somewhat forgiving. And, I mean, they’ve got to be hurting in this situation as much as much as anybody.”

A father himself, Kelly understands the love a parent has for one’s child.

“Gabby has two stepdaughters, and I have children,” Kelly said. “And they must, I’m sure they love their son. And they must be, you know, as distraught over this as all of us are.”

Three days after the shooting took place, the Loughner family released a statement of apology: “This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don’t understand why this happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish that we could change the heinous events Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss.”

Kelly’s full interview is set to air Tuesday during a special edition of 20/20.