[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H4604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LAMENTING DEATHS IN THE AMERICAN FAMILY

  (Mr. BYRNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the wake of last week's 
devastating shooting in a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
  The killing of any human is a real tragedy, but to lose nine innocent 
people while they were in a Bible study simply because of the color of 
their skin is heinous beyond words. On behalf of the people of 
southwest Alabama, I want to share our condolences with the families of 
those who lost loved ones.
  Let me be very clear. In today's society, this kind of hate-based act 
and particularly hate-based on race or ethnicity is deplorable and 
unacceptable. We are one Nation, and there is no place in our country 
for racism.
  As a southerner, but more importantly, as an American, I feel as if 
there has been a death in my own family because these deaths were in my 
family, the family of all citizens in the United States of America.

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