AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says that Saturday’s Tucson, Ariz., assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and the murder of six of her constituents:

serves as a terrible reminder to all of our political and civic leaders about the need to end the use of appeals to violence in our political rhetoric. We must find ways to passionately debate and even disagree with each other without using words that can give unstable individuals an incitement to engage in violent acts.

The attack came as Giffords met with her constituents for a public meeting outside a grocery store. The gunman seriously wounded Giffords, killed six people and wounded 13 others.  In an e-mail today to AFL-CIO activists, Trumka writes that during the past few years, “violence in political dialogue has gotten out of control.”

We do not know why the shooter targeted Rep. Giffords, or if he was influenced—directly or indirectly—by the outrageous rhetoric that’s become all too common in our politics.

But “too much vitriolic, hate-filled rhetoric that we hear on radio and television has”:

demonized public servants and candidates as “enemies” and has made them sound less than human. In the short run, it may inspire passions and votes. But in the long run, it’s toxic to the survival of rational discussion in our democracy. And it’s not worthy of our great nation.

In 2010, as the anti-government rhetoric heated up on radio and television airwaves and across websites, threats of violence against members of Congress jumped 300 percent, according to Politico.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee says the “horrendous crime” has spurred a national conversation about the use of violent imagery and extremist anti-government rhetoric in political discussions.

As public employees, our members know what it is like to be on the receiving end of anti-government attacks.  Less than a year ago, an anti-tax extremist smashed his airplane into the IRS office building in Austin, Texas, where more than 200 federal employees worked.  Only last week, two mail-bombs were sent to government offices in Maryland where AFSCME members work to provide vital services.

We urge everyone engaged in public debate to take concrete steps to ensure that our discourse remains civil and that nothing is said or done that might precipitate another attack on our democracy and the values we all cherish.

United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard calls Giffords “a principled public servant on the issues important to Arizona’s working families,” and says:

We need to be a nation that comes together and rises to our best values.

“When there’s talk of ‘target lists’ illustrated by gun sights, when there’s talk of ‘Second Amendment remedies’ for political problems, when vitriol has gone as far as it did in the recent election season,” says Trumka, “it must be condemned as dangerous and unacceptable by leaders and citizens across the political spectrum.”

I’ve always believed that America works because many people contribute many ideas—and that’s good, even when I flat-out disagree with some of them. But all people must come to the table in good faith. Those of us in the public eye have a special responsibility not to employ violent rhetoric, because it can have dire consequences. As leaders and activists, we have the responsibility to weigh our words carefully and to foster respect and understanding, not violence.