Hoyer: This is About Decency, Democracy, Security, and the Rule of Law

“So many get up and say, ‘I do not support violence. I do not support this action. But I will do nothing about it.’ Of course, they don't say the last sentence, they just don't do anything…This is not about control, as the [Republican] Leader would represent – it is about decency, democracy, and security. And the rule of law.”

“We have seen, Madam Speaker, over and over again in our politics that words matter, and actions matter even more. Vitriol, the glorification and promotion of violence, hate speech, and the failure to condemn all those when they occur have created an atmosphere in our country which, sadly, has now – and too frequently – been visited on this Floor. That is not conducive to the exercise of free, constitutional politics.”   “Former leader of my party, Dick Gephardt said, that democracy was a substitute for war. We should settle our differences peacefully and nonviolently. The speech that has been the subject of this resolution whittles away at the rule of law and the civility needed [for] constructive debate. Indeed, violent words and images are too often a precursor to the practice of violence. We have seen that, we saw it on January 6…My friend Gabby Giffords and Sen. Kelly know that all too well that violent words and images are too often a precursor. As does Rep. Speier, who worked for the late Rep. Leo Ryan and was herself badly injured in the shooting that took his life. As well, my friend, the Republican Whip, and his family, know that words can encourage, and result in violence. Last month, the family and constituents of Sir David Amess in the United Kingdom experienced the same pain.”   “All of us who were in this Capitol on January 6 and those who stood in defense of it know that pain. The loved ones of Officers Sicknick, Liebengood, Smith, Defreytag, and Hashida carry that pain with them every day. Officer Evans’s family as well has carried that pain since April. Madam Speaker, so do the families of elected officials, journalists, and civil society leaders who have been killed or maimed by political violence across the world….”   “It would be naive, Madam Speaker, to suppose that we can eradicate the promotion of violence in wider society, either in our country or abroad. Such evil has always existed… But constitutional parliamentarians worldwide have long understood that, in order to maintain the level of civility required to carry out the business of legislating for the people, we must have rules of decorum, and limits on speech that would cause civil debate to devolve into uncivil attacks and political violence. That's why we have rules in this House to enforce decorum and ensure civility. That's why we have Rules of Conduct, which the Chairman of the Ethics Committee read a little earlier.”   “It should be, and is, undebatable that this conduct violated that rule. Those rules apply not only to this Floor but everywhere a sitting Member engages in work relating to his or her service as Representative. When those rules were written, they did not anticipate a Member would threaten violence directly against another Member…