NICD’s Statement Following Tragic Political Violence in Minnesota
Last week, members of the evenly divided Minnesota Legislature came together to pass the state budget. They disagreed. They argued. They negotiated and they passed a bipartisan budget where nobody got everything they wanted, but everybody got something they wanted. That is the way democracy is supposed to work. Today, just days after democracy worked, two members of the Minnesota Legislature, Democratic leader of the House Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman, and their spouses were attacked in their respective homes. Representative Hortman and her husband were fatally wounded in the attacks. This not how democracy is supposed to work.
All of us at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD) are shocked at this senseless violence targeting elected officials. We mourn the loss of Representative Hortman and her husband and pray for the recovery of Senator Hoffman and his wife. True public servants, Representative Hortman and Senator Hoffman faithfully served their constituents and the people of Minnesota, working tirelessly to improve the lives of those they served.
For more than a decade, NICD has worked with officials across the nation to encourage them to settle their differences with civil and constructive conversations.
“For the sake of democracy and the sake of our nation, we must settle our differences with words. Violence is never, and can never be, the answer. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hortman and Hoffman families and their colleagues in the Minnesota Legislature. While we offer prayers, we will also continue our work promoting civil discourse and collaboration as the only means of settling our differences.”
– Keith Allred, Executive Director, National Institute for Civil Discourse.