Expressing Sense of House Regarding Arizona Shooting

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALZ. Madam Speaker, today I rise after some of the saddest days I have ever lived through. A friend and a colleague, an exemplary member of this body was gunned down while doing her job. Innocent lives were lost and a Nation grieves for their family and friends.

GABRIELLE is one of the finest public servants I have ever had the privilege of knowing. When GABRIELLE and I first arrived here in the beginning of 2007, it was with a deep pride in our home districts and the commitment that we would do whatever it took to work hard for the people we were so honored to represent. GABRIELLE's passion for her job and her constituents is an inspiration to me and to this Congress. My greatest hope is that she will recovery as quickly as possible and come back to join her colleagues who miss her. My wife Gwen and I are praying for her recovery and our thoughts are with her wonderful husband Mark and her wonderful family.

Gwen, my staff and I all grieve for the loss of her Director of Outreach, Gabe Zimmerman and we are praying for the speedy recovery of Ron and Pam, two staffers who are still recovering from gunshot wounds.

In a Politico story this week, Doug Hart, president for the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans said of Gabe, ``He just had a heart for people.'' Politico also reported Gabe told the Tucson Citizen in 2007, ``We serve who walks into our office and we don't even ask what party they belong to.'' In Gabe's memory, let us continue to serve our constituents to the best of our ability, regardless of their political beliefs. And today, let us remember Gabe and all those members of our own staff who come to work every day dedicated to helping the Americans we serve.

I also want to express my deepest condolences to Judge John Roll's family. In the stories that have emerged in recent days, we can see he was a dedicated public servant and a distinguished member of our judicial system.

My thoughts and prayers are also with all the families of GABRIELLE's constituents who were victims in this horrific attack. They were doing what we hope our constituents will do every day. Come to our events and lend us their wisdom and ideas. These civic minded Americans make our jobs possible and we grieve over losing them.

As I think about the event that GABRIELLE hosted on Saturday and the kind of Arizonians who attended her event, I am reminded of the very best in the American people. A young girl born in the depths of tragedy who wanted to make the world better for her classmates and her generation. A husband who's final act was protecting his wife. A passionate advocate for justice who wanted to share his thoughts with his Representative. They were all people who wanted to make a difference in the direction of the country they loved and their attendance at Saturday's event was no less than the dream and vision of our founding fathers.

I don't know whether the heated political rhetoric caused the terrible events on Saturday. We may never know the answer to that question. But surely we can all agree that our politics have been too divisive, our debates too heated and our words too harsh.

In the honor of the victims of Saturday's attack, we must rededicate ourselves to civility. To passionate, but never angry, public debate. To respectful disagreements. To rededicate ourselves to accessibility to the people we represent and to the notion that debate without violence is the cornerstone of our representative democracy.

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