The next time members of Congress stop for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of mass shootings, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) won't be participating.
"I'm not going to stand up for a moment of silence again and then watch us do nothing," she said. "It's hypocritical and it speaks to our impotence that we think that it's good enough to just take out one minute and pray for the lives. The families of those who have died don't want our one minute of silence. They want some assurance that this kind of conduct is not going to be sanctioned in this country moving forward." Speier — who was shot five times in 1978 when she traveled to Jonestown to investigate the Peoples Temple — added that she's "had it. I have had it with inaction. I've had it with the sense that it's okay that we not act."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Oysters from New York's past could shore up its futureUnder the Radar Project aims to seed a billion oysters in the city's waterways to improve water quality, fight coastal erosion and protect against storm surges
-
Today's political cartoons - November 24, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - taped bananas, flying monkeys, and more
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaineIn the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation courtSpeed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
