Sheila Jackson Lee: “This is a somber moment, and I thank the gentleman from Florida for not only his passion but his recognition that…”

“This is a somber moment, and I thank the gentleman from Florida for not only his passion but his recognition that America should never forget. I thank the Speaker pro tempore for letting us remember all the faces and families and loved ones that were impacted. Forty-nine lives, I believe, were taken in one moment, with an act of violence by a crazed gunman, with a gun. We have been trying to stand in the gap, with background checks passed the very first moment under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, gun violence legislation that has no impact on the Second Amendment but seeks to derail the kind of crazed gunman that was able to take these lives before first responders could come. I remember hearing the stories of families waiting outside of the Pulse nightclub, saying they heard from their loved one but had not seen them because they were making their last-minute cries for help. This memorial would say to America that we are not a nation of bigots, of xenophobia, racism, hatred. We are a nation of respect and dignity. I know the families of those who died at the Pulse nightclub are still in pain and will never forget. But it is the duty of the United States Congress, with our voices raised, to say that the book that I have been holding on to over the last 2 days, to fight for justice in policing, to talk about D.C.…”