Tom Udall: “I thank you for the recognition, and I thank Senator Gardner for his hard work on this excellent piece of legislation.…”

“I thank you for the recognition, and I thank Senator Gardner for his hard work on this excellent piece of legislation. Today, our Nation is in pain. It is the pain of centuries of deeply embedded racial injustice. This Nation has watched in horror as the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd's life were cruelly and needlessly taken from him by a police officer. Our Nation grieves for the families of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other innocent Black men and women violently taken from their families and loved ones. This is a pain all too familiar for too many Black Americans. This is a moment of reckoning for our Nation. Black Americans have borne the brunt of this systemic racism, as have Hispanic and Native American communities in New Mexico and across the Nation. So many of our officers protect and serve with honor and integrity, but we cannot continue to sweep police brutality and racial inequality under the rug, ignoring these painful legacies until the next tragedy. There are thousands of Americans of every political stripe across the Nation who have come out in peaceful protest demanding change. Now, we know there are a few--a very small few--who are exploiting our Nation's pain and using violence to disrupt. We unequivocally condemn all acts of violence and call for nonviolent but urgent action. By calling for the U.S.…”