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.
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About NICD, the National Institute for Civil Discourse
NICD works to build the nation’s capacity to engage our differences constructively. In 2011, the University of Arizona created NICD after the Tucson shooting that killed six people and wounded another thirteen, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the weeks prior to the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords was already in discussion with the University of Arizona about creating a center that would focus on improving the quality of discourse. The galvanizing power of that event brought together founding honorary co-chairs George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and an impressive bipartisan group of other leaders to honor Congresswoman Giffords’ vision.
Next Generation is one of NICD’s most important programs that creates and strengthens bipartisan relationships through mutual, trust-based, and effective communication in state legislatures around the country.
NICD offers Americans a variety of opportunities and resources to engage differences constructively at https://civildiscourseinstitute.org/.
