On the recordOctober 25, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank you for your leadership on this issue. I appreciate you, Congressman Green. We've known each other a long time. Thirty years ago we both started as young buck lawyers at the Harris County Courthouse in Texas and tried cases against each other, you as a defense lawyer, me as a prosecutor. You continued to work in the defense category until you assumed the role of a judge in Houston. And so it's good to see you again, and I appreciate your leadership on this very important issue. Some people may not know but Judge Green and I, we disagree on some political things, but on some basic human rights issues we're very strong advocates and work together. And I appreciate your civility and ability to work together on important issues such as domestic violence awareness. This is an important issue, Mr. Speaker, and it's good that we recognize the importance of understanding how domestic violence occurs in our country and how we should recognize the important people that are involved as victims of domestic violence. I, too, remember the days when domestic violence was not a case where the police really got involved. Certainly, as a former prosecutor, we never saw those cases. Society's attitude about domestic violence was, It's not our problem, it's not a crime, it's their problem, it should stay in the family situation.…
