All Lives Matter

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, in the past year, our Nation has witnessed an unspeakable tragedy--a rivalry of law enforcement officers and the communities they work so hard to protect.

From riots in Ferguson and Baltimore to, most recently, the individual targeting and murdering of police officers, our Nation is at a crossroads.

We find ourselves asking:

When will the rule of law and those who enforce that law, once again, be respected?

How many more violent protests and threatening chants will those who bravely wear the badge have to put up with?

How much more taunting under the guise of a misleading slogan be tolerated before community organizers, prominent African American leaders, and Democrats at the city, State, and national levels say enough is enough?

When will we hear in unison: ``It is not okay to kill police officers''?

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I are here this evening to honor those in uniform who have fallen, but we are also here to call for an end to this violence. We are here to call for the restoration of law and order. We are here to call for the protection of the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day--the ones who chose a profession to help make their neighborhoods safer.

These are not just police officers. They are mothers; they are fathers; they are husbands and wives; they are sons and daughters. Mr. Speaker, their lives matter, too, and all lives matter.

In God we trust.

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