Schneider Holds Moment of Silence for Lives Lost in Highland Park Shooting
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) was joined by members of the Illinois delegation on the House floor to request a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Highland Park Independence Day Shooting. Video is available here.
Congressman Schneider delivered the following remarks:
I rise with my colleagues from Illinois to honor the lives, and bless the memories, of seven precious people murdered in a heinous act of evil on July 4th in Highland Park at our Independence Day Parade.
As I speak now, the residents of Highland Park are also gathering to honor the victims.
Katherine Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Straus, Jacki Sundheim, Nicolas Toledo Zaragoza, and Eduardo Uvaldo.
There are no words to describe the heartbreak of our community. The grief, but also the anger.
These beautiful people were the center of the universe for their families, and pillars of strength for their communities. They were loving parents and grandparents, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. They had personal passions and diverse interests…and all loved life. Each one had a special spark that will still burn bright within the people who knew and loved them.
In standing and honoring them, we also confront the fact that, as Rabbi Wendy Geffen poignantly said at one of the funerals, "we should not have to be here."
Yet here we are, giving sorrowful remarks and moments of silence, time and time and time again. Everyday, in communities across America, we needlessly lose 111 lives to gun violence. No community is left untouched.
Today we unite and stand with Highland Park as they mourn. Tomorrow I pray that we can unite in this body to stand up and work together to bring this awful violence to an end.
I ask now that my colleagues in the House join the Illinois delegation in a moment of silence in honor of the victims in Highland Park. And before we lift our heads, may we take an extra moment to reflect on the many more lives lost to gun violence in the 9 days since. May their memories forever be a blessing.
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