 In more than 40 years, since Ronald Reagan in 1981, we do not yet know the specific motivations behind this would-be assassin, sick and twisted, though they assuredly are. But sadly, this is not the first time we've seen this kind of repugnant and un-American violence. In 2011, then-Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head and nearly killed by a gunman at a constituent event. Other innocent people were killed.