Free guns plan where politician was shot "This is about individuals, single parents protecting their families": Shaun McClusky. A businessman has defended a plan to hand out free guns to people in the city where US politician Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head in a 2011 attack. As politicians slammed the plan, former Tucson mayoral candidate Shaun McClusky said arming more than 30 local people had nothing to do with the Giffords shooting, which had revived America's gun control debate. I think what happened to Ms Giffords was a horrific incident. But her incident and citizens protecting themselves in their homes are completely unrelated," he said on Friday. Shot in the head at point blank range: Gabrielle Giffords. This is about individuals, single parents protecting their families. He hoped to give guns to 36 individuals, who will be trained and undergo background checks, to be ready to use them within about 60 days. Ms Giffords (pictured) was shot in the head at point blank range in January 2011 while meeting constituents in Tucson, in an attack by a deranged gunman that killed six people, including a US federal judge. Local politicians have criticised the plan. "Arizonans in Tucson and across the state are demanding that we reduce gun violence and create safer communities," Arizona legislator Victoria Steele, who represents Tucson, told Fox News. Handing out shotguns is not a solution. Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell called it "ideological extremism at its worst" and "a political gimmick that could have dangerous consequences," Fox reported. Mr McClusky, a real estate and property management consultant, confirmed that he got the idea from a program called the Armed Citizen Project, launched in Houston by a master's student at the University of Texas, Kyle Coplen.