Sheila Jackson Lee: “I want us to be very quiet in this Chamber, almost to the extent of hearing a pin drop. That is what happens when you…”

“I want us to be very quiet in this Chamber, almost to the extent of hearing a pin drop. That is what happens when you are in prayer: Muslims, Catholics, those of the Jewish faith, Christians. Prayer is the most sacred moment in many faiths, in all faiths. Imagine that moment in Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, friends of ours across the Nation. That weekday prayer service for some is a lifeline for their survival. They are huddled in prayer, maybe taking care of what they call a broken heart, a bad day at the office, a need to take care of a wayward child, and in comes this young man that they saw only as a person in need of prayer. That is a song we sing. That we are in need of prayer. Just imagine this pristine, white, old church symbolizing the freedom of slaves, just imagine these precious souls who were doing nothing but praying. I want to acknowledge the pain that Whip Clyburn experienced. I saw him in the aftermath of those days. These were not just his fellow Americans, they were his neighbors and his friends and interns. How many remember when the commander in healing, the commander of bringing people together, President Obama, sang the song Amazing Grace? That is what life in the midst of a storm is about, and that is what we are in, in the proliferation of guns. And my friends on the other side keep throwing darts and bombs about undermining the Second Amendment. I say it again.…”