On the recordJanuary 12, 2011
I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. Madam Speaker, my wife, Vivian, and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the awful events in Tucson, Arizona, last Saturday. First and foremost, our prayers are with Gabby Giffords, her family, her staff, and the other victims of the senseless tragedy. Since she was first elected in 2006, Gabby Giffords has been one of the brightest lights in this Congress. I have gotten to know her personally in the Blue Dog Coalition, and she is my friend. I have been especially impressed by her intelligence, her warm personality, and her singular ability to bridge differences and bring people together. These qualities, and the fact that she was attacked while serving her constituents, make the situation all the more heartbreaking. In the book of Isaiah, it is written, ``Come let us reason together.'' Let us then take this opportunity to pause and reflect on the lives of the victims, the heroism of the first responders, and the bedrock principle of American democracy--reaffirmed in the resolution before us today--the right to assemble peacefully and to petition the government for the redress of grievances. {time} 1450 We must not let violence or the threat of violence deter us from representing our constituents and doing the Nation's business. God bless Gabby Giffords, the other injured, the families of those who were killed, the people of Arizona and the United States of America.
