Chris Van Hollen: “I rise to honor the victims and the survivors of the terrible shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper which occurred…”

“I rise to honor the victims and the survivors of the terrible shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper which occurred on June 28. I thank my friend and colleague Senator Cardin for his remarks earlier today on this floor and thank the Senate for taking up a resolution in memory of the victims. Our State of Maryland and the country were horrified by the tragic attacks on one of our great Maryland institutions--the Capital Gazette newspaper, the local newspaper of our State capital in Annapolis, which has been operating since 1727. It was, and is, your quintessential smalltown newspaper, which serves Annapolis and Anne Arundel County but is also a newspaper read throughout the State of Maryland. In that awful shooting, we lost five members of the Capital Gazette: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters. Gerald Fischman was an editorial page editor whose thoughtful columns and sly wit shed light on critical community issues. He was well known for his insatiable curiosity and his love of family, and his talent for writing extended to poems he composed for his wife Erica. Rob Hiaasen was a big man with a big presence who applied his considerable skills as a journalist to mentor others, both fellow reporters and students at the University of Maryland College of Journalism. He gave of his time, and he gave of his talent. John McNamara was a sports writer and sports fan--a big fan of the University of Maryland Terps.…”