[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10324]
[From the U.S. 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.

                          ____________________