[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11672-11673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AURORA THEATER SHOOTING

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I rise today to mark a somber 
milestone. Nearly 1 year ago, Colorado and the Nation were shocked by 
the horrific scene at an Aurora movie theater. Even before the sun rose 
that Friday, July 20, 2012, we began hearing of a senseless mass 
shooting that took the lives of 12 people and injured 70 more.
  Today I want to mark the anniversary of this tragedy and to honor the 
strength that so many Coloradans have shown--both on that day and in 
the weeks and months since.
  The Aurora theater shooting shook us, it shocked us, it outraged us, 
but, as I said one year ago, it did not break us. Even today we are 
seeing that the legacy of this terrible tragedy is not the horror of 
that day but, rather, the courage and resilience of the people who have 
refused to let this event define their lives.
  Take, for example, 18-year-old Zack Golditch, who endured surgery and 
weeks of recovery so he could continue with his football career and 
become a repeat state discus champion. The Denver Post recently named 
him the winner of their Adversity Conquered through Excellence award 
and this fall he will begin his freshman year as an offensive lineman 
at CSU.
  Or Marcus Weaver, who was shot twice but now hosts a weekly radio 
show in Denver that spotlights great Americans who are making a 
difference in the community. Marcus also works with his church to help 
people who have struggled through addiction or incarceration and now 
travels the country inspiring others with his story and pushing them to 
take charge of their lives.
  These are just two of the countless examples of the perseverance of 
people who were affected by the Aurora shooting. Zack and Marcus's 
strength defines us as Americans. That is something in which we can 
take great pride.
  It is the kind of strength we honor in remembering this tragedy now a 
year later. In particular, we look back and honor young men like 26-
year-old Jon Blunk and 24-year-old Alexander Teves who sacrificed their 
lives to protect their friends. And then there were the countless 
police and other first responders who rushed to the scene to care for 
the wounded and to stop the shooter before he could injure others.
  Colorado has known too many tragedies these past several years. From 
the Aurora theater shooting to wildfires in Colorado Springs, Fort 
Collins and elsewhere that have threatened and destroyed entire 
communities and left hundreds of our friends and neighbors without 
homes.
  We have seen the same spirit of sacrifice and resilience, as 
firefighters and community members have banded together to fight the 
Black Forest Fire, the West Fork Complex Fire and the other blazes that 
have threatened entire communities across Colorado this year.
  This Saturday, on the 1-year anniversary of the Aurora theater 
shooting, let's take time to remember those we have lost and to honor 
the resilience of our neighbors who press on with their lives, 
undaunted by this terrible act.
  In that spirit, I want to read into the Record the names of the 
twelve people who lost their lives one year ago. We must never forget 
these names: Matt McQuinn, Micayla Medek, Jessica Ghawi, Gordon Cowden, 
Jesse Childress, John Larimer, Jonathan Blunk, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 
Alex Sullivan, Alexander Teves, Rebecca Wingo, and Alexander Boik.
  I hope that we can draw strength from the tragic loss of those 12 
wonderful, beautiful people and that it leads us to redouble our 
efforts to be better people--to be more understanding to our friends 
and more loving to our families and to aspire to live our lives with 
the courage that the people of Aurora and Colorado have shown over the 
course of this last year.
  I think that the leaders here in Washington could learn from their 
courage. The victims of Aurora have not let setbacks stop them from 
achieving great things and making their community a better place to 
live. They, in fact, have refused to allow the word ``victim'' to 
define them.
  Of course, we still have work to do to prevent future mass shootings. 
There are many commonsense steps that we can and must take to reduce 
senseless gun violence. But today is not a time for a policy debate. 
Today is a day to remember the victims, to honor the heroes from that 
terrible day last year, and to commit ourselves to never forgetting 
their memory.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Washington.

[[Page 11673]]


  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, let me commend the Senator from Colorado 
for his critical reminder to all of us about how you can get up each 
day and never know what life brings to you, but to remember not that 
the people so senselessly lost their lives, but the courage and passion 
they have left for all of us. I thank him for that important reminder.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. I thank the Senator.

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