On the recordMarch 24, 2021
I thank Senator Murphy so much for those beautiful words. When you honor the victims as you did, you honor all victims. What I have found about these crimes, particularly the crime of domestic violence, is, so often, the victims have been hidden from view. It is a crime that takes place in someone's bedroom with the door closed. It is a crime that takes place in a house, a crime that no one ever sees. As you know, in a situation like this, when there is a gun, it becomes deadly. One of my memories is of years ago when a police officer in a small town in Minnesota responded to a domestic violence call. What a lot of people don't know is that, oftentimes, those are the most dangerous calls police officers take. It was a victim--very young--who had called the police, and it was of someone who had severe mental illness problems, her boyfriend. The police went to the door, and the door was answered, and the guy shot the police officer. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, but he shot him in the head. I was at that funeral. It is a reminder that the crime of domestic violence isn't just about one victim; it is about an entire community. As the widow walked down the aisle of the church, she had her two little boys with her, and she was holding this little girl in a dress that was covered in stars. The last time that family had been in that church was for the Nativity play that the boys had been in.…
