House observes moment of silence for San Bernardino shooting

The House paused its proceedings Wednesday morning to conduct a moment of silence for the victims of this month’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

The 53-member California delegation stood in the well of the House chamber as Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) expressed condolences for the victims of the Dec. 2 attack in his district.

“Today I ask my colleagues, fellow Americans, and those who hear this message around the world to pray for the families of the 14 victims, the speedy recovery of the 22 injured and the countless first responders that helped that day, and for the health and resilience of the San Bernardino community,” Aguilar said.

{mosads}“In the aftermath of this pain, I have seen firsthand the tenacity and the sprit of the area that we call the Inland Empire. We have said loudly as one community that this tragedy will not define us and it will not divide us,” he added.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also halted the Capitol Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the day of the shooting for a moment of silence.

Democrats in recent days have lamented the seemingly regular occurrence of moments of silence for victims of mass shootings. A day before the San Bernardino shooting, the House held another moment of silence after the attack at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Multiple lawmakers took to Twitter to express their frustration.

“Moment of silence on @HouseFloor for #SanBernardinoShooting victims. Since #SandyHook, on gun safety, all Congress has done has been silent,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) tweeted. 

“Another #MomentOfSilence on the House Floor after a weeklong GOP refusal to simply VOTE on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) wrote.

In the last six months, the House has conducted moments of silence for the shootings in San Bernardino, Colorado Springs, an Oregon community college, Charleston, S.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Lafayette, La.