Tracey Mann: “I rise today still in shock and saddened at the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. There is no place for political…”

“I rise today still in shock and saddened at the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. There is no place for political violence in our country, and it is antithetical to who we are as Americans. The beauty of our Nation and the First Amendment is that anyone from anywhere has the right to express their beliefs, engage in dialogue, and disagree peacefully. That is the heart of our democracy. We need to get back to embracing that dialogue. Charlie often said that when we stop talking, that is when violence happens. I don't want to live in a society where we don't talk to people we disagree with and resort to violence. Leadership is never easy, but it falls on us to lead the way by carrying on the mission that Charlie lived for of open debate in a free society in the greatest nation that the world has ever known. When al-Qaida terrorists attacked our Nation 24 years ago, they had one goal--to destroy America. They didn't see us as Democrats or Republicans, red States or blue States. They just saw Americans, one nation under God, and their goal was to destroy us. When we lose sight of seeing the humanity in our fellow Americans who think differently than us and convince ourselves they are the enemy instead of our neighbor, we are feeding into the very thing our adversaries want, and destroy our great country from within. We are better than this. America is the greatest country in the world. All 340 million of us have different perspectives, values, and beliefs.”