Expressing Sense of House Regarding Arizona Shooting

Floor Speech

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Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Last Saturday, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and many others were victims of a brutal and brazen attack as they participated in a Congress on Your Corner event. Six people were killed and many more were injured.

Like many of my colleagues, I have had the pleasure to work with Representative Giffords and can attest that she is a thoughtful, kind, and wonderful person. My prayers are with her and her family as she begins the road to recovery.

My thoughts are also with the families of those who were killed. No words can ease the pain of their families, and our country shares in the grief of six lives cut short. The goodness that Dorothy Morris, Judge John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard, Gabe Zimmerman, and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green brought to this world will never be forgotten.

It is during moments of tragedy that Americans forget our differences and unite around common goodness. We love our country and our countrymen. We will never let any one act or one individual deter us from living in freedom and without fear. As Members of Congress, we refuse to be cowed by senseless violence. Our duty is to our constituents, and we will fulfill that duty without reservation or hesitation.

The lesson from last Saturday can be found in the courageous acts of strangers and neighbors who banded together amid violence to help others and confront a madman. Let us honor Representative Giffords' intern, David Hernandez, who did not hesitate to come to her aid, and three incredible Arizonans who, without regard for their own lives, tackled and subdued the attacker.

Whatever the deranged purpose of the shooter, it has only served to strengthen our resolve and the greatness of our country and to marvel at the bravery and kindness of our fellow Americans, who without thought of their own safety acted in the face of evil. It is their stories of bravery that will be remembered and held up as an example of an exceptional nature of our great American character.

As we move forward from this horrible event, let us keep the feelings of brotherhood and compassion that should not only exist in the wake of a tragedy, but in our everyday lives.

God bless our dear friend, Gabby Giffords, all those who were injured, the families of the fallen, and God bless America.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren), and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time.

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