Celia Israel: “I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. Madam Speaker, the violence in Tucson and the shooting of my very good…”

“I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. Madam Speaker, the violence in Tucson and the shooting of my very good friend Gabby Giffords is not a time for partisanship and it is not a time for politics. It is a time for reflection, and I have three brief reflections to share with my colleagues. I knew Gabby pretty well. We weren't best friends, but we were good friends. I was with her and her husband, Mark, on the day that Mark proposed to her. We were in New York, and Gabby and I had several events to do. And Mark kept asking if Gabby could leave early, and I kept saying no. And finally, Mark said, There is no choice. She's leaving early. I later learned that the reason that she had to leave these events early was because Mark took her to the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point and proposed to her. Most of my constituents now know Gabby Giffords. Few know that this important day in her life occurred on Long Island. Second reflection, I believe that Gabby would have been uncomfortable with the attention that she is getting today and over the past several days. I believe she would want Americans more focused on the 9-year-old girl who was killed, on the Federal judge who was killed, on the congressional staffer who lost his life, on the others who were killed and wounded. And my final reflection is this: I believe that we should reject the notion that Gabby's colleagues in Congress need to hide from our constituents, that we should reduce our exposure.…”