Jackie Speier: “I'd like to compliment the gentleman from Wisconsin and the freshman Members who participated in the last hour for a job…”

“I'd like to compliment the gentleman from Wisconsin and the freshman Members who participated in the last hour for a job well done in underscoring what the sequester means to Americans across the country. I'm going to shift gears now as I'm joined by my good colleague from Virginia (Mr. Moran). We're going to talk about gun violence. Those of us who've been victims of gun violence see horrific pictures in our minds over and over again. Mine was over 30 years ago, but I am still haunted by visuals of that day: my leg being blown up, my arm being blown up, and really thinking that I was going to die. When you look death in the eye, there's a certain clarity that comes to you, a certain clarity about what's important, a certain fearlessness to deal with issues that maybe you wouldn't have dealt with under other circumstances. Now I am haunted by more recent events in Newtown. I'm haunted by the story told by Veronique Pozner about little Noah, her son. Little Noah was shot 11 times. A little child was shot 11 times. She made a point of having an open casket at his funeral for one reason, because this is not just about numbers. This is about human beings. This is about visualizing what happens when someone is gunned down. She had an open casket, and she invited the Governor of Connecticut to the funeral because she wanted the Governor to see this little cherub face. She said it's not little angels going to Heaven.…”