Staffers estimate that home security improvements will cost $2,200. FEC allows Giffords's security

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) may use political campaign funds to secure her home from would-be attackers, the Federal Election Commission unanimously ruled today.

“The Commission concludes that because the need for enhanced security at Representative Giffords’s home is due to violence and security threats stemming from her activities as a Member of Congress, the use of campaign funds to pay for such security measures does not constitute personal use of campaign funds, and is permissible,” FEC Chairwoman Cynthia Bauerly wrote on behalf of her commission colleagues.


Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head sustained during a mass shooting incident in January, wants to use campaign funds to improve exterior lighting and locks, and to install a “duress alarm button.”

Her staffers estimated the improvements would cost $2,200.

Michael McNulty, Giffords’s campaign chairman, initially sought an advisory opinion from the FEC on August 17.

Giffords simply wanted the FEC’s guidance on the matter, since her personal security is “going to be a lifelong issue for her,” spokesman Mark Kimble said. “She appreciates the FEC’s consideration of the matter.”