Rep. Jim Himes: Why I walked out of the House’s moment of silence for Orlando
Silence won't do anything to prevent gun violence.
Rep. Jim Himes writes in the Trump banned newspaper – The Washington Post,
On Sunday evening, shortly after I learned of yet another massacre of innocent Americans by a madman with a gun, I attended the Connecticut premiere of “Newtown,” a documentary chronicling the emotional aftermath for several parents whose children were obliterated by Adam Lanza and his AR-15 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. After the film, I talked with Mark Barden, the father of Daniel Barden, who was murdered at age 7.
I marvelled at the strength Mark showed in the face of inconceivable loss, and again in recounting his tortured journey to the filmmakers.
Then I thought about how Congress would respond to the latest atrocity. There would be, for the umpteenth time, a moment of silence. To “honour” the victims. We did it five times just last year: Stop talking about sports and dinner and Donald Trump for about 10 seconds, put on our most serious faces, wonder if we’d turned off our phones. For 10 seconds.
Done. Over. On to the next thing.
Not me. Not anymore.
Read more at The Washington Post
Photo By U.S. Congress (http://himes.house.gov/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons