WASHINGTON—It was a day of prayer, recognition, and mourning as Washington honored the victims of the Tucson, Ariz., shooting that claimed 6 and injured 14, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
President Obama traveled to Arizona, Wednesday for the memorial event Together We Thrive: Tucson and America, where he highlighted the courage and fortitude of the American people. The event offered an opportunity for collective mourning in the wake of what many have called a heinous act.
“There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight.”
“We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief,” said Obama.
“The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives—to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents.
I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here—they help me believe. ... I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us,” Obama added.
Obama and the first lady, with a bipartisan congressional delegation from Arizona, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Attorney General Eric Holder, and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, traveled on Air Force One to attend the evening ceremony at the University of Arizona. The president and first lady planned a return to the White House that night.
Earlier in the day, members of Congress and staff attended a private church service at the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium.
At the door, most stopped to sign a condolence book. Another set of books in the Cannon House Office Building saw a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, as staff and members of the public took the opportunity to express their thoughts.
Before and after the service, members of the House took turns speaking about their resolution honoring those who were killed or injured in Saturday’s shooting outside a grocery store in a Tucson suburb. The resolution passed with unanimous consent.
The resolution, which will serve as a remembrance of the day, included the particulars of the dead, such as the fact that 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green had been elected to the third grade student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School. It was reported that she had gone to the Congress on your Corner event with her mother to learn more about the government.
President Obama traveled to Arizona, Wednesday for the memorial event Together We Thrive: Tucson and America, where he highlighted the courage and fortitude of the American people. The event offered an opportunity for collective mourning in the wake of what many have called a heinous act.
“There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight.”
“We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief,” said Obama.
“The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives—to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents.
I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here—they help me believe. ... I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us,” Obama added.
Obama and the first lady, with a bipartisan congressional delegation from Arizona, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Attorney General Eric Holder, and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, traveled on Air Force One to attend the evening ceremony at the University of Arizona. The president and first lady planned a return to the White House that night.
Earlier in the day, members of Congress and staff attended a private church service at the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium.
At the door, most stopped to sign a condolence book. Another set of books in the Cannon House Office Building saw a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, as staff and members of the public took the opportunity to express their thoughts.
Before and after the service, members of the House took turns speaking about their resolution honoring those who were killed or injured in Saturday’s shooting outside a grocery store in a Tucson suburb. The resolution passed with unanimous consent.
The resolution, which will serve as a remembrance of the day, included the particulars of the dead, such as the fact that 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green had been elected to the third grade student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School. It was reported that she had gone to the Congress on your Corner event with her mother to learn more about the government.
