Arizona congressman: Dismissing threats endangers staff, too

A member of Arizona's congressional delegation said Sunday that the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was a warning to lawmakers to not just dismiss threats as "crackpots."

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said on ABC's "This Week" that he believed offices would take threats more seriously after Saturday's events.

"I can tell you, every member of Congress receives some," Flake said. "Your office staff will call you and say, 'We had this caller. We don't know what to do with him.' If a direct threat is made on your life, obviously, those are turned over, and I think all of us have turned some of those over to the authorities."

But, Flake said, even if a threat is dismissed as a "crackpot" the danger needs to be recognized.

"And I think what really hit home to all of us on Capitol Hill yesterday was that you're not only putting yourself in danger if you ignore these kind of threats; you're putting staff in danger, as well," he said. "And that's something I can tell you I haven't fully appreciated, and I'm sure some of my colleagues feel the same."