Joe Pitts: “first, Pearl, Mississippi; then, West Paducah, Kentucky; then Jonesboro, Arkansas; then Edinboro, Pennsylvania; then…”

“first, Pearl, Mississippi; then, West Paducah, Kentucky; then Jonesboro, Arkansas; then Edinboro, Pennsylvania; then Springfield, Ohio; and now, Littleton, Colorado. It all seems too much to bear. We have no cure-all answers, quick and easy solutions, only questions and prayers. Parents pray for many things in life: that their children grow up to share the same values they tried to teach them, that they realize all their hopes and dreams, that they feel love, and that they love people and life. One thing they all pray for is that their children spend their days in a safe and wholesome environment at school. There are too many schools in America where the children are not safe, where the environment is not wholesome, where positive values and experience do not triumph. It is a failing, and we must work together to answer the prayers of parents who worry every night about their children's safety. Today we express our sorrow. We all pray and grieve for those suffering from the senseless violence in Colorado.”