Press Releases

June 10, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) yesterday spoke on the House floor after introducing H. Res. 515, condemning the murder of Army Private William Long and the wounding of Army Private Quinton Ezeagwula, who were shot outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little Rock, Arkansas on June 1, 2009.  His remarks as prepared and delivered on the House Floor are below.
 
Mr. Speaker, on June 1, 2009, only about a week ago, Private William Long, age 23, was shot and killed as he worked at the Army Navy Career Center, military recruitment center in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Private Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18, was also shot in the attack that day.  Thankfully, Ezeagwula survived, although our latest information is that he still remains in critical condition.

Yet Mr. Speaker, most Americans who are listening today are hearing about Private Long’s death for the first time.  

It's likely that most Americans haven't heard of his killing because Private Long’s murder forces an issue that the mainstream media does not want to confront or report on: Islamic terrorism within the United States. The man accused of shooting Private Long and Private Ezeagwula was formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe.  Bledsoe converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad. He later traveled to Yemen where he studied under an Islamic scholar.

Mr. Speaker, we have millions of law abiding Muslim citizens in this country.  Acts of terror committed by some members of a religion should never be used to condemn all members of a religion.  At the same time, however, we cannot be blind to the Jihadist ideology of some Muslims in this country who believe they have a religious duty to murder the innocent. 

The mindset of radical Islamic terrorism which today seems to find fertile ground in the soil of jihad claims that the cause of justice is advanced by killing the innocent and by killing those who seek to protect the innocent.  This is the fundamental reality, and when the American media and we as a people refuse to call evil by its name, it imperils all of us and it especially dishonors all of those who have sacrificed and bled to protect the innocent from that evil.

Mr. Speaker, the American soldier does not fight because he hates what's in front of him; he fights because he loves what's behind him.  Private Long's so-called crime was his commitment to defend the innocent against those who would cause them and all of us harm.  That commitment is the price required to maintain our freedom.  That commitment was carried deeply in the heart of Private William Long.  He displayed it bravely by wearing the uniform of the United States Armed Services and dying in it for all of us.  That commitment will forever be the legacy of his life here on earth.

Mr. Speaker, today there are approximately 1.2 million reserve component members of the Armed Forces protecting America; more than 8,000 Army and Army Reserve recruiters; and more than 7,000 Navy recruiters, serving at more than 1,500 military recruiting stations and centers in United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Europe.

This attack could have ended the lives of any one of those noble men and women.  Each of them risks his or her life every single day to preserve America’s freedom and to defend the right of every American to live, to be free, and to pursue their dreams.

So today, Mr. Speaker, I've introduced House Resolution 515, to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Private William Long on behalf of the United States House of Representatives; to offer our hope of a full and complete recovery for Private Quinton Ezeagwula; to urge the prosecution of the perpetrator of this senseless shooting to the fullest extent of the law; and to urge the American people to join together in condemning such horrific acts of violence upon the noble men and women of our Armed Forces.

We pray especially that the hearts of all those that Private Long knew and loved would find comfort and peace in the knowledge that, in dying because he wore the Uniform of the United States military, their loved one laid down his life for the sake of human freedom and on behalf of those who could not defend that freedom for themselves.  No legacy could be more noble, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.