THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY WATERS, V. BROWN, GEORGE, HAHN, MILLARD, BAKER, BISHOP, BOYD, B. BOYLE, K. BOYLE, BRIGGS, BROWNLEE, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, D. COSTA, DePASQUALE, EVERETT, FREEMAN, GOODMAN, GROVE, HARKINS, HESS, HORNAMAN, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, MANN, MICOZZIE, MIRABITO, MULLERY, MYERS, PARKER, PASHINSKI, QUINN, READSHAW, ROEBUCK, SAINATO, SANTARSIERO, SANTONI, SONNEY, STABACK, STURLA, SWANGER, THOMAS, WAGNER, WATSON AND HARHAI, JANUARY 19, 2011

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JANUARY 19, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with

respect to the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on January

8, 2011.

WHEREAS, On January 8, 2011, an armed gunman opened fire at a

"Congress on Your Corner" event hosted by United States

Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, killing

six and wounding at least 14 others; and

WHEREAS, The Honorable John Roll, Christina Taylor Green,

Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabriel

Zimmerman lost their lives in this attack; and

WHEREAS, Christina Taylor Green, who was the nine-year-old

daughter of John and Roxanna Green and granddaughter of former

Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green, was born on

September 11, 2001, and was a third grader with an avid interest

in government who was recently elected to the student council at

Mesa Verde Elementary School; and

WHEREAS, The Honorable John Roll, a Pennsylvania native who

was 63 years of age, began his professional career as a bailiff

in 1972, was appointed to the Federal bench in 1991 by President

George H. W. Bush, became chief judge for the District of

Arizona in 2006, and was a devoted husband to his wife, Maureen,

father to his three sons and grandfather to his five

grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords was

a target of this attack and remains in critical condition at an

Arizona hospital; and

WHEREAS, Representative Giffords became the youngest woman

elected to the Arizona Senate in 2002, the third Congresswoman

to represent the state of Arizona in 2006 and the first Jewish-

American Congresswoman to represent her state; and

WHEREAS, On January 7, 2011, Representative Giffords urged

centrism and moderation in the public political discourse; and

WHEREAS, This tragic shooting occurred a week before the

commemoration of the Martin Luther King, Jr., national holiday,

in honor of a man who stood for peace and for resolving

differences without violence; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives hereby condemn,

in the strongest possible terms, the horrific attack which

occurred at the "Congress on Your Corner" event hosted by United

States Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tuscon, Arizona, on

January 8, 2011; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives offer its

heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of

those who were killed in that attack; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives express its hope

for the rapid and complete recovery of those wounded in the

shooting; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the memory

of the Honorable John Roll, Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy

Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabriel Zimmerman;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives applaud the

bravery and quick thinking exhibited by those individuals who

prevented the gunman from potentially taking more lives and

helped to save those who had been wounded; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the

service of the first responders who raced to the scene and the

health care professionals who tended to the victims once they

reached the hospital, whose service and skill saved lives; and

be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives reaffirm the

bedrock principle of American democracy and representative

government, which is memorialized in the First Amendment of the

Constitution of the United States and which Representative

Giffords herself read in the Hall of the United States House of

Representatives on January 6, 2011, of "the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a

redress of grievances"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives stand firm in its

belief in a democracy in which all can participate and in which

intimidation and threats of violence cannot silence the voices

of any American; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the service

and leadership of United States Representative Gabrielle

Giffords as she courageously fights to recover.