On the recordJanuary 12, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart I stand today to support this resolution and to encourage Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her family and all victims of the Arizona shooting. I am in prayer for their well- being, their healing and their peace. Gabby and I served together on the Science and Technology Committee, and we lived in the same DC apartment building. I learned of her passion for people and for her commitment to service. In her honor, I call for a return to compassion and an abandonment of hate-laden rhetoric. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ``Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'' If I could speak directly to the American people, I would ask them to combat this great darkness with love, not with fear. I would ask them to combat this great darkness with a tide of hope and faith and perseverance and to understand our unity.
