“We, the People …”
These words established a nation that stands together in times of great celebration and great sadness. We came together as a nation recently when we learned of the deadly shooting in Arizona that took innocent lives and left a Member of Congress and others grievously wounded. We came together to pray, to hope and to try to make sense of this seemingly senseless tragedy.
I strongly condemn this senseless action and encourage all Americans to stand together and do the same; there is no place for this violence in our society or in our politics. Our political system is an open one, one where people are free to debate ideas and that will not change because of one heinous act. What brings us together as Americans is far greater than anything that divides us.
The politicizing of this event is both shameful and morally irresponsible and I find it sad that some people are using this tragedy to try and score political points. It is not right to blame any group of people for the acts of an obviously troubled and disturbed individual.
Instead, this is a time that all Americans should rally around Representative Gabrielle Giffords, her staff, and the other victims of the Tucson shooting in a show of solidarity of everything that is great about America. I join my colleagues and the rest of the country in wishing Representative Giffords a speedy, full recovery, and I pray for the other innocent Americans who tragically lost their lives or were wounded.
It is important that you know that the actions of one person will not prevent me from engaging and reaching out to all corners of the 6th Congressional District. I was elected to represent everyone in the 6th Congressional District, and that is what I will do. Above all, that is my most important job – making sure that your voice is heard in Washington. I will be listening to hear your concerns on the issues we are all facing, and the recent incident in Tucson will not deter me from doing that. And I’m looking forward to getting to work on my committees, the Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, and Veterans. My position on these committees will allow me to fight and advocate for the District.
As I mentioned in last week’s column, we will be holding townhall events throughout the region in the upcoming weeks and months. Details will be forthcoming. I would encourage you to attend one of these events so I can hear what is on your mind. I was fortunate to meet many of you over the last year, and I’d like to get to know many more of you. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 202-225-5705 if I can be of service to you.
I was honored and humbled to be sworn in on January 5th and have the privilege of working on your behalf. I won’t forget that I work for you, and nothing will stop me from doing the important work of the people of the 6th District.
