[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AMERICA WELCOMES ALL PEOPLE AND DOES NOT STIGMATIZE BASED ON RELIGION, 
                           ETHNICITY, OR RACE

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this morning, we started by reading the 
Constitution, and I did not want to leave this week without reminding 
us of Amendment One of the Bill of Rights:
  ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.''
  Today, we stand with the people of France who, in the early years of 
our beginnings, certainly gave to America many of the democratic 
principles by way of their own values. Today, we acknowledge that 
violence will not undermine democratic values around the Nation or 
around the world.
  We mourn those who have lost their lives, and we want to stop the 
terrorist violence, but what we most want to do is to be able to 
acknowledge the individual dignity of all people and that we will not 
stigmatize religions or ethnicities or race in this country, but we 
will recognize that we are great because we are able to welcome all 
from all places and to be able to accept their human dignity.
  We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, and I am grateful for 
the greatness of this Nation, but I stand with the people of France and 
mourn their loss this week.

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