Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for helping bring this to the floor. Representative Escobar's particular piece of legislation is not merely a reminder or a political statement. It is a memorial, an acknowledgment of a tragedy, and an acknowledgment of the need for reconciliation, the need for healing, the need for understanding, and the need to have the conversations as communities that we need to have so that if we do nothing else to prevent this kind of deranged violence, we can at least begin to heal and talk about the issue in a way that maybe reaches part of that end to reduce this kind of violence and violence in general. I speak from limited experience but vital experience. Our former colleague, Representative Giffords, was in an attempted assassination. Six people died at the Congress on Your Corner where she would hold events for people to come and talk to her about the issues facing our Nation and facing the district, that unique ability of this democracy of ours for their elected officials to be accessible to the public that they represent. She was shot, almost died, and survived, and we have a memorial to that event in Tucson. It has proven to be a rallying point, it has proven to be a great instrument for nonviolence, and it is a forum for discussion and growth, the growth of tolerance and understanding in Tucson, Arizona. Mr.…”