David Jolly: “Since the tragedy the Nation witnessed in Orlando about 10 days ago--a tragedy that struck at the heart of the American…”

“Since the tragedy the Nation witnessed in Orlando about 10 days ago--a tragedy that struck at the heart of the American people, that struck at the heart of the LGBT community--we have a Nation that feels less secure, a Nation looking to Congress for answers regarding our national security posture, the policies of this administration's, of this Congress and answers, also legitimately, about how to protect our communities while also protecting the constitutional privileges of due process and the Second Amendment. They are very legitimate questions we cannot turn a deaf ear to. We answer to the American people. They entrust us to serve. I was in Florida on the weekend of the attacks. When I left Florida to fly up here, I left a State, a community, that was united in grieving, united in mourning, united in its resolve to do something about it. I arrived at an institution as divided as ever. It is not constructive to shout ``shame'' to your colleagues. It is not constructive to suggest that one side of the aisle is complicit in mass attacks on our Nation simply because some of us have had grave concerns about a proposal that, for 2 years, has been offered that we believe is flawed in recognizing constitutional protections; but it is also not acceptable to embrace inaction, and that is true on my side of the aisle as well. I have voted against the Democratic proposal in committee for a couple of years.…”