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State of the Union seat to be left empty to represent victims of gun violence
Source: The Guardian
State of the Union seat to be left empty to represent victims of gun violence
A seat in first lady Michelle Obama’s guest box will be left vacant for the victims
‘who no longer have a voice’ and to remind politicians of their responsibility
Martin Pengelly in New York
Sunday 10 January 2016 16.15 GMT
When Barack Obama gives his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, one seat in the first lady’s box will be empty. Announcing Michelle Obama’s guest list on Sunday, the White House said the seat would represent “the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice”.
Other guests on the list will include a once-homeless veteran, a Syrian refugee living in Michigan, Paris train attack hero Spencer Stone and Jim Obergefell, named plaintiff in the supreme court case which last year legalised same-sex marriage.
Daniel Malloy, the governor of Connecticut who instituted gun control reforms after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting of 2012, will also attend.
“We leave one seat empty in the First Lady’s State of the Union Guest Box for the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice,” a White House statement read, “because they need the rest of us to speak for them.”
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A seat in first lady Michelle Obama’s guest box will be left vacant for the victims
‘who no longer have a voice’ and to remind politicians of their responsibility
Martin Pengelly in New York
Sunday 10 January 2016 16.15 GMT
When Barack Obama gives his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, one seat in the first lady’s box will be empty. Announcing Michelle Obama’s guest list on Sunday, the White House said the seat would represent “the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice”.
Other guests on the list will include a once-homeless veteran, a Syrian refugee living in Michigan, Paris train attack hero Spencer Stone and Jim Obergefell, named plaintiff in the supreme court case which last year legalised same-sex marriage.
Daniel Malloy, the governor of Connecticut who instituted gun control reforms after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting of 2012, will also attend.
“We leave one seat empty in the First Lady’s State of the Union Guest Box for the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice,” a White House statement read, “because they need the rest of us to speak for them.”
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/10/state-of-union-vacant-seat-victims-of-gun-violence
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