President Obama calls gay intern who helped save Giffords' life a hero
Wed. January 12, 2011 11:45 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Tucson, Ariz. -
During a memorial for the Tucson shooting victims on Wednesday, President Obama singled out the heroes from that day, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' gay intern, Daniel Hernandez.
Hernandez had only been working for Giffords for five days when the shooting started on Saturday.
20-year-old Hernandez was volunteering at the community event and was standing just feet away from Giffords when Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman. Hernandez immediately rushed to her side and tried to comfort her.
"We are grateful to Daniel Hernandez," President Obama said. "Daniel, I am sorry, you may deny it, but you are a hero, but we have decided you are a hero. Because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss, and helped keep her alive."
Hernandez, who was seated in the front row next to the President, stood awkwardly as the President showered praise on him. Hernandez smiled shyly, and then sat back down.
During the memorial for the victims, Obama also recognized the other heroes from the day, including the woman who grabbed the magazine clip before Loughner could jam it back into the gun, and the men who tackled him until police arrived.
"When I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head towards the congresswoman to make sure that she was OK," Daniel Hernandez Hernandez told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
"I had to lift up the congresswoman, because she was severely injured, and I wanted to make sure that she was able to breathe OK because there was so much blood," he said. "We had to grab whatever we could. And because we were outside of a grocery store, the employees from the grocery store brought out smocks that are used by the meat department that were clean, so that we may use them as bandages, because that was really the only clean cloth that we had."
"The congresswoman was alert. She was able to hold my hand when I asked her if she could hear me," said Hernendez.
Hernandez, a junior at the University of Arizona, is gay and is a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. "She's been a great ally to the LGBT community," Hernandez said of Giffords during an interview with the Dallas Voice.
Giffords is a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus and is a strong supporter of gay rights, including gay marriage.
Six people, including a 9-year-old girl, were killed on Saturday.
Hernandez had only been working for Giffords for five days when the shooting started on Saturday.
20-year-old Hernandez was volunteering at the community event and was standing just feet away from Giffords when Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman. Hernandez immediately rushed to her side and tried to comfort her.
"We are grateful to Daniel Hernandez," President Obama said. "Daniel, I am sorry, you may deny it, but you are a hero, but we have decided you are a hero. Because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss, and helped keep her alive."
Hernandez, who was seated in the front row next to the President, stood awkwardly as the President showered praise on him. Hernandez smiled shyly, and then sat back down.
During the memorial for the victims, Obama also recognized the other heroes from the day, including the woman who grabbed the magazine clip before Loughner could jam it back into the gun, and the men who tackled him until police arrived.
"When I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head towards the congresswoman to make sure that she was OK," Daniel Hernandez Hernandez told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
"I had to lift up the congresswoman, because she was severely injured, and I wanted to make sure that she was able to breathe OK because there was so much blood," he said. "We had to grab whatever we could. And because we were outside of a grocery store, the employees from the grocery store brought out smocks that are used by the meat department that were clean, so that we may use them as bandages, because that was really the only clean cloth that we had."
"The congresswoman was alert. She was able to hold my hand when I asked her if she could hear me," said Hernendez.
Hernandez, a junior at the University of Arizona, is gay and is a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. "She's been a great ally to the LGBT community," Hernandez said of Giffords during an interview with the Dallas Voice.
Giffords is a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus and is a strong supporter of gay rights, including gay marriage.
Six people, including a 9-year-old girl, were killed on Saturday.