Statement from
Maine House Republican Leader
Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor)
July 15, 2024
Our success as a nation is based on a foundation of freedom; the freedom to choose our own destinies, practice our faith as we please and to say what we want without persecution. These principles of freedom are a beacon to oppressed people across the world and offer us all endless opportunities.
Not everyone, however, accepts these truths to be self-evident; that freedom is a God given right, not gifts bestowed to the American people. The shots fired in Pennsylvania, which claimed one brave American’s life, severely injured others, and came within a fraction of an inch of murdering our former President of the United States came from an individual who did not embrace our foundational belief in freedom.
Our nation has conquered incredible challenges over the past few centuries. From sacrificing our bravest to defend freedom at home and in foreign lands, to building an economic system of unparalleled prosperity, amazing innovation, and leading human intellectual achievement across the globe, our country has led the way. It is in the American DNA to embrace freedom and use that foundation to create a better life for subsequent generations.
I implore all of our elected political leaders, our cultural and religious thought-leaders, our so-called “watchdogs of democracy,” the free press, to pause and reflect on how we communicate and treat each other. The viciousness dominating our political discourse today is real and is an actual threat to our Republic, and to the freedoms that we are all grateful for.
Let us not allow a would-be assassin’s bullet or heightened political vitriol to destroy our freedoms and set our nation on a permanent path of destruction. Instead let us celebrate and embrace our freedoms and bring encouragement and healing to our nation.
God Bless the victims and their families of this weekend’s horrific tragedy. God Bless President Trump and his family, and God Bless America.
###
