It's been a year since the tragic Tucson shooting which left six people dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords fighting for her life.

Her struggle to recover from the gunshot wound to her head has been a source of inspiration, and Sunday she and the local community are coming together to pay tribute to those who were injured or lost their lives 12 months ago.

On January 8, 2011 college dropout Jared L. Loughner fired 31 rounds at innocent citizens who had gathered for a congressional outreach event outside a supermarket.

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More than 30 memorial events are scheduled across the Tucson area, including a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona. Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, are attending several.

Loughner was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and is currently consigned to treatment at a US federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri.

PHOTOS: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords With Her Family

The courts and his defense team are still fighting over whether he can be forced to take anti-psychotic drugs, and if he'll stand trial if eventually deemed mentally competent.

Giffords has spent the last year learning how to walk and talk again and is currently deciding whether she will seek re-election.

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Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords took a day off from her rehabilitation therapy to help serve Thanksgiving dinner to service members and retirees at a base in her hometown of Tucson.

Giffords and her former astronaut husband Mark Kelly dished out hundreds of meals at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Thursday.

She wore a baseball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front.

Giffords used only her left hand as she served. Her right side is still impaired because of the brain injury she suffered when she was shot in the head  in January.  But nothing could get in the way of her enthusiasm for the event, and she never stopped smiling.

"She's such an inspiration and her story is so inspirational, it really made me proud, Airman 1st Class Millie Gray told AP. "I felt very proud and very humble."

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was on Sarah Palin's infamous "crosshairs map," listing all the Representatives the former VP candidate wanted defeated in the midterm elections, RadarOnline.com can report.

PHOTOS: Gabby Gifford With Her Husband & Friends

The map created a firestorm because it had what appeared to be targets placed over the Congressional districts involved, and a list of the Representatives, including Giffords.

The map was initially posted by Palin's political action committee (PAC) which has since taken it down.  It is still active on Palin's Facebook page.

At the time of its creation, the "target map" caused a huge uproar.

"Sarah Palin has now placed gun sights on 20 members of Congress who supported reform," Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine said at the time.

Palin today put out a brief statement sending her condolences to the families of all those injured in the shooting that critically injured Giffords.  She sustained a gunshot wound to the head.

One of Giffords' Congressional aides was also shot.

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