On the recordJanuary 12, 2011
Our hearts and prayers go out to our colleague and friend Gabby Giffords and her family. And equally noted are six of her constituents and fellow Americans who died as a result of this tragic incident, and several others who were injured and wounded at this time. We also pray for God's good grace and comforting Spirit to be upon them as well. I deeply appreciate the initiative and leadership of both parties to bring this resolution to the floor for consideration, not only to give special tribute to our colleague and friend Gabby Giffords, for her courage and commitment to public service, but to also give us all an opportunity to seriously reflect on what we need to do to change the atmosphere, if you will, of what we do and say not only among ourselves, but to our fellow Americans throughout this great Nation of ours. One great lesson I learned from Gabby Giffords is her comment that words do have consequences. And I have also learned a couple more phrases--cut the rhetoric, let's lower the temperature in our discourse with one another.
