Rep. Giffords joins bipartisan seating for State of the Union

{mosads}Her seating choice throws her support behind the show of bipartisanship demonstrated by members of Congress sitting with members of the opposite party for the speech. Many lawmakers broke with the tradition of sitting divided by party for the president’s annual speech to a joint session last year, and are encouraging the trend to continue this year. Giffords was given as one reason for the symbolic show of unity during last year’s speech, which took place not long after her shooting.

Giffords was shot in the head at a constituent event near Tucson last January. She announced on Sunday that she will step down from Congress this week in order to focus on her recovery, putting an end to speculation that she could run for her retiring Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R-Ariz.) Senate seat. She likely would have faced Flake, who is running for the seat, in the general election.