[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 16034-16035] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO VIKKI BUCKLEY ______ HON. BOB SCHAFFER of colorado in the house of representatives Wednesday, July 14, 1999 Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and contributions of Vikki Buckley, Colorado's Secretary of State, who passed away this morning after suffering an apparent heart attack on Tuesday. Quoting a friend of hers, ``Vikki's no longer in the hands of doctors. She's now in the arms of God.'' Vikki, who proudly proclaimed herself to not be a hyphenated American, but a proud American. She held the distinction of being the first Black Secretary of State and the first Black Republican woman elected to a statewide constitutional office. Winning her first election by 57 percent to 36 percent in 1994, she was re-elected last November. Running for office for the first time, Vikki was selected for the Republican ballot after defeating several opponents at the Colorado Republican State Assembly in 1994. She distinguished herself from her opponents when she stood up and delivered one of the best speeches I've had the pleasure of hearing. An outspoken conservative, Vikki served as the state's chief election official and traveled around the state and country continuing to speak out on varying issues of importance to her, enduring the wrath of liberals. Most recently, she gave the opening remarks at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Denver, CO. Her speech has been acknowledged nationwide and most insightful concerning the heart of humanity and the preservation of the entire Constitution of the United States, including the Second Amendment. Mr. Speaker, I hereby submit Vikki's speech for the record. Welcoming Remarks of the Colorado Secretary of State Ms. Vikki Buckley Good morning! I greet you as Secretary of State of Colorado and I welcome you to Colorado, a state where some of us believe strongly in the entire Constitution of these United States, including the Second Amendment. Isn't it ironic that many who would run you out of town would themselves be unable to even vote had we as a nation not honored all provisions of the United States Constitution? To them I say--shame on you! I stand before you today as one who has worked closely with the family of Isaiah Shoels. Isaiah was the Columbine High School student who was killed in part because of the color of his skin. I must agree with Isaiah's father Michael who has stated that guns are not the issue. Hate is what pulls the trigger of violence. We are witnesses to new age hate crimes which we must eliminate if we are to remain the greatest nation on earth. What is a new age hate crime? When our children leave for school without a value system which places a premium on human life--we are accessories to a new age hate crime. Parents, when you raise your children and send them to school without a value system which teaches the difference between right and wrong; then parents, we have committed a new age hate crime. I say to those who run our schools, when you allow children to graduate who are technologically and functionally illiterate--you have committed a new age hate crime because those children are destined to be economically tortured to death as though they had been chained and dragged behind a pickup truck in Jasper, Texas. Those who would run the NRA out of town need to look at our own children who are engaging in irresponsible sex and having children they cannot take care of. Such irresponsible sex is a new age hate crime--raise as much heck about that as you do the NRA and you will save more lives in 5 years than are taken with guns in a century. If we allow the language of hate in our homes--when terms such as ``nigger'' are freely used then we are laying the foundation for new age hate crimes. The language of hate must be challenged. Just before a skinhead gunned down a black man on a downtown Denver street last year he asked, ``Are you ready to die, nigger?'' Columbine eyewitness accounts reveal that just before Isaiah's killers fired they asked, ``Where is that little nigger?'' The language of hate must go. Now I know that some of what I say here today can make some of us squirm a little bit. We are all guilty of harboring some prejudices and stereotypes. But it is when we are most uncomfortable about addressing an issue that we become so close to real problem solving. People we can do better. I am not a hyphenated American. I am an American. That is why I know we can do better. I find it difficult to discuss--but I have been a victim of a gun-shot wound. I know first hand the pain and fear--but that experience has not made me an opponent of the NRA or the Second Amendment. That is why I stand before you today and ask you to join me and commit NRA resources to combat violence and hate. I am not talking a slick PR campaign, I am talking about a programmatic approach designed to combat violence and hate. I will be in touch to make this proposal a reality. Together, we can work for a living memorial to those who perished at Columbine. But we must stand ever strong against those who would ignore sections of the U.S. Constitution which they do not like. We are a strong [[Page 16035]] democracy because the guiding principles of our Constitution and all of its amendments including the Second must be adhered to in its entirety, not selectively. Thank you and God bless America. Vikki, the mother of three sons and the grandmother of two, was once on welfare to support her children. She left public welfare 25 years ago when she became a clerk typist in the Secretary of State's office, the office which she eventually directed as Secretary of State. She attended Heritage Christian Center and was a board member of Project Heritage. She was a founding member and director of the Colorado Stand Up for Kids Organization, and mentored young ladies in the nonprofit organization Empowering Young Ladies for Excellence, and spoke to international women's organizations regarding bridging differences to make a stronger global community. She has worked to help homeless kids and has worked tirelessly in the cause of stopping youth and gang violence. Vikki was twice featured in significant publications, the December 1995 Ladies Home Journal--``Against all Odds'', and Atlantic Monthly, 1996, ``America's Conservative Women.'' She received numerous awards including the Political Award from National Federal of Black Business Women and numerous ``Breaking through the Glass Ceiling'' awards. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a snapshot of Vikki Buckley's life and the contributions she has made to the state of Colorado and this Nation. Our lives have been enriched for having known Vikki. ____________________