On the recordDecember 17, 2012
I thank the gentleman from Connecticut. And on behalf of all the residents of my home State of Rhode Island, I extend our profound sympathies to our neighbors in Newtown, Connecticut. As we stand here this evening, mourning the innocent victims of this horrific massacre, our hearts ache for the parents and families who have endured an indescribable loss. We stand united as members of one community who share in the vital and solemn responsibility to protect our children, our families, and our neighborhoods. As the men, women, and children of Newtown join together to comfort one another, to overcome the anguish and sorrow that has broken their hearts, they should know that an entire country is by their side, extending our prayers and love and are committed to action. The senseless cruelty and unspeakable violence that was inflicted upon the people of Newtown and took the lives of these precious angels have changed our Nation forever. We honor the acts of bravery, we celebrate the lives, even those cruelly short, of those we lost; and we now must embrace our solemn duty and moral responsibility to take action in honor of the memory of the lost angels. They deserve nothing less.
